I Think I Like You
by OriginStoryPilot
Summary: Ruby Rose is elected to be vice president of the student council. This means she's forced to work with the student council president, Weiss Schnee. What Ruby thought was going to be a waste of time might just turn out to be the best thing she's ever experienced. High school AU. (Cover art by Yodog)
1. So I Guess I'm the New Vice President?

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 1: So I Guess I'm the New Vice President?**

I like sitting in the back of the classroom.

It's the perfect place to be completely ignored by the teacher as well as classmates. The place where I can just set up one of my various textbooks in front of my head and go to sleep without any awkward stares or rude interruptions.

Well... most of the time.

 _WHAM._

My head flies off of my desk, a nice drizzle of drool coming up with it, to be face to face with the devil himself.

I look up to see Mr. Ozpin, my homeroom teacher, holding his cane down across my desk. I give a meek smile and scratch the back of my head out of embarrassment as I hear a few snickers throughout the class.

"Miss Rose, I do believe nodding off in class is against my policy. Especially when someone so important is speaking." He gestures to the front of the room.

I stiffly turn towards the front, sleep still invading my limbs, and there stands this year's student council president, Weiss Schnee.

I have heard a few rumors about her, even though it's only been a few weeks into the school year. Some students are saying nasty things, like calling her the Ice Queen or saying she won't give people in the lower classes the time of day.

What I've picked up is that she's basically a stuck up, prim and proper know-it-all that would sooner spit in the cafeteria food than serve it. That being said, I personally haven't had any interactions with her, but from the glare she's giving me right now, I'm not sure I'd want to.

Beside her is the student council secretary, Blake Belladonna, whom I know because Yang is good friends with her. Along side the secretary is this year's treasurer, Pyrrah Nikos.

And all three of them are glaring daggers at me. Well, all except Pyrrah, who's giving me a more impatient look than anything.

 _Wow, Ruby, off to a great start in your last year of high school. Only a few weeks in and you've already managed to piss off the entire student council by the looks of it._

I mentally kick myself as the president clears her throat to resume speaking.

"As I was saying, it's quite unfortunate that the vice president we elected at the end of last year has moved over the summer holiday." She looks over the class, eyeing us like we're some sort of bait. "That's why I've suggested we put the next vice president to a vote."

Weiss clasps her hands together behind her back and offers a nod to Blake, signaling it's her turn to speak.

The girl's voice is so low and monotone that I have trouble hearing her when talks. I've always had this problem whenever Yang brings her around but I eventually just gave up trying to have conversations with her.

"Before we put it to a vote, who in here is interested in the position?"

An airy silence stretches across the classroom. Even my best friend Penny, who sits a seat in front of me, stays quiet.

Ozpin walks away from my seat and sits back down in his cozy desk chair as silence fills the room for an uncomfortable length of time. The student council members whisper to each other briefly until Weiss steps forward with an annoyed look on her face.

"Well, I was not planning on disclosing this with you, but you're the last homeroom that we've asked, and no one in the others have taken us up on the offer either."

Weiss takes a deep breath and pulls at the cuffs of her uniform's jacket. I attempt to sink lower in my chair, knowing where this is probably going.

"I understand that it's a difficult position, and an extracurricular at that, but we need _someone_ to take it on." She lets her hands fall and rest tensely on her hips. "So, do any of you have any suggestions as to whom we should choose?"

Immediately, Penny turns around in her seat and gives me a sneaky smile. She points at me then gestures to the front of the room with her head.

 _'You wouldn't.'_ I mouth at her.

She just continues giving me that knowing smile, and raises her hand.

"Yes! Penny! Do you have any suggestions? Or perhaps you want to join yourself?" The president gives a hopeful expression.

I don't blame her, Penny is known for her smarts after all. It's actually kind of scary how sharp she is. Sometimes we joke that her photographic memory is almost like a robots.

"Unfortunately, I am unable to because of my busy schedule with yearbook, but I think I know the perfect person for the job!"

Weiss tugs nervously at her collar and raises an eyebrow.

"...And who would that be?"

If possible, Penny's sly grin grows wider and I feel my palms grow sweaty.

"Ruby Rose!"

I might have seen wrong, but I'm pretty sure Weiss's mouth drops open. A few kids turn to me and give me curious glances, almost like they were sorry for me. Not willing to accept my cruel fate so easily, I jump out of my seat, causing the chair to clatter.

"I OBJECT!"

"I would have to object as well." Weiss quickly agrees. "This position is no joke. It requires someone who's willing to put in the work needed t-"

Penny cuts the president off.

"But Ruby _is_ willing! She's a _great_ student, it's why she skipped a year, and she's also _super_ available since she is not in any clubs. Oh, you would be lucky to have her!"

 _Oh, kill me now._

Weiss makes a face somewhere between reluctance and disbelief. I'm left standing helplessly at my desk, gaping at the council like a dead fish and trying to think of anything that could get me out of this. The class stays mostly quiet except for the occasional whispering; no one wants to risk being called on.

However, that silence is broken by a laughing Ozpin.

"Well, I think it's a brilliant idea!" He says between chuckles, taking the opportunity to readjust his circular glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. "Maybe, Miss Rose, it will teach you some responsibility. That responsibility includes being able to stay awake for at least five minutes after the bell rings."

This gets a couple of laughs from the class. Usually, I would be pretty embarrassed and sink into my desk, but I'm still standing and trying to think of something, _anything_ , that could possibly get me out of this.

"I'm pretty sure your sister is in the council as well, is she not?" Ozpin goes on.

 _Think, Ruby, think._

"Perhaps I could even count it as extra credit."

Ugh, there's no making this easy. The sad thing is, I'm pretty much as lame as Penny described me being, a geek and a brainiac that isn't a part of a club and has nothing better to do with my life than play video games and sleep all day. There's no logical reason for me being unable to join the council, and it makes me feel like I'm grasping at a ton of invisible straws.

The president squints and gives me a wary look, our eyes locking across the room in what feels like an intense display of discontent from both sides. Weiss breaks away first, letting out a deep sigh, and looking back towards the class.

"Is there anyone else that would like to volunteer?" She tries once more.

But again, the classroom is silent.

"Alright then, Ruby it is."

I'm about to complain again, but the president gives me a sharp look, making me close my mouth immediately. I reluctantly give a huff of defeat and plop back down in my chair.

"Fine."

The president starkly nods and the council members all move to take their seats. The other students resume their talking, almost as if they don't give a care in the world that my senior year has been ruined in a matter of five minutes. Penny turns around in her desk to give me a thumbs up.

"You know, Penny, I thought we were friends, but _clearly_ I was mistaken." I roll my eyes at her.

"Oh, come on. I think this will be just wonderful for you! I'm just trying to look out for you. You _are_ pretty reclusive after all, and you don't have many other companions."

I grunt and lean back in my desk, making the old thing creak.

"Gee, thanks for pointing that out." I say, trying to sound sarcastic. "Not to mention I'm gonna have to work with the schools _Ice Queen_. I've heard she's done some pretty harsh shit."

Penny gives me a disapproving look and taps a thumb to her chin.

"You really shouldn't judge people before you get to know them. Maybe that's why you have a hard time making friends." She suggests with a shrug.

"Yeah, 'cause you'd know all about making friends."

Penny opens her mouth, about to say something, but then her eyes widen and she quickly turns around. I look confusingly at the back of her head until, over the class's chatter, I hear the clicking of footsteps coming my way.

Someone stops at my desk, and I slowly look up to see a pair of blue eyes burning a hole into my skull. Seeing her up close, I notice the president has a faded scar running down her left eye. It looks very out of place, given how pristine the rest of her features look.

"I'm just as unhappy with this arrangement as you are." She lets out an exasperated sigh, and holds a hand to her temple as though she has a bad headache. "Look, just meet us in the student resource room after school. It's where we hold our meetings. Don't be late."

I feebly nod my head and Weiss gives a curt nod back before walking away; her heels making a loud clacking noise the entire way back to her desk on the other side of the room. Penny turns back around in her seat and grins at me.

"This is so exciting! You have to tell me everything tomorrow!"

I just groan and slam my head onto my desk.

* * *

Six classes later, and I'm heading down the hallway to the student resource room.

I would be lying to myself if I said that I wasn't feeling a bit nervous, and intimidated at that. I've never been very good at meeting new people, let alone interacting with them, and all the people in student council just seem so cool.

The secretary, Blake, is extremely quiet and calm. Yang's gotten to be pretty good friends with her and has talked about how mysterious and placid she is. I've never been able to figure out why they're such good friends, I mean, they're basically complete opposites. Despite her quietness, and lack of interest whenever I've tried talking to her, she seems friendly enough.

And Pyrrha is practically the coolest girl in school. Not only is she in student council, but she's also the captain of the track team and everybody looks up to her. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body and she also gets perfect grades from what I've heard. She even helps tutor some students in lower grades that are falling behind.

As for Weiss… well, the jury is still out on that one.

Don't get me wrong, she seems plenty capable as a president, and she's the top student in school. There's a rumor going around that she got a perfect score on the SAT, but no one's been able to prove it. She's also beautiful, everyone thinks so. Regardless of her coldness, she has admirers in every grade and people that would practically do anything to get her attention.

However, something about her seems a bit _too_ perfect to me. Off-putting. Gorgeous, rich, popular, she's like the main character in a cheesy teen movie star film.

I've gotten so caught up in my train of thought, that I don't notice a certain someone sneaking up behind me, that is, until I'm pulled into a chin lock and lifted off the floor.

"Oh my god! I heard the news!" Shouted straight into my ear. "My baby sister is going to be the new vice president! I'm so, _so,_ proud of you!"

I try wiggling out of her grip, but it's no use. She stars using her fist to muss up my hair and spinning me around like I'm a toy. A few of the remaining students in the hallway give us some odd looks and I attempt to squirm out of the strong grip holding me in place.

"Yaaang, put me down!"

She just laughs, but drops me back onto the floor anyways as I attempt to fix the tangled mess that is now my hair.

"Please don't ever do that in public again." I groan, fixing my backpack strap that's now falling off my shoulder.

"No promises, Rubes. I just couldn't contain my excitement! My little sister is following in my footsteps and becoming part of the student council! You're gonna love it."

I feel the uncertainty I've been feeling all day bubble up to the surface again, making me feel queasy.

"I didn't exactly volunteer for this." I mumble, hanging my head towards the ground and training my gaze at my shoes. "I just don't want to make a fool of myself."

Yang gives me a knowing smile as we stop in front of the student resource room's door.

"Blake gave me the gist of what happened." She says. "I know you'd rather be at home playing video games and eating cookies, but I think this'll be good for you, Sis."

I feel myself pout and scuff a sneaker against the school's ugly tiled floor.

"I'm pretty sure they all hate me already."

Yang leans over and scruffs a hand through my hair, making me whine in protest.

"Look, I know how Weiss can be." she inquires thoughtfully. "She gets a bad rep sometimes, but she's just really serious about her position. She won't hold any scary vendettas towards you, I promise."

I scoff, thinking about the icy tone she used towards me this morning. If there were any way to redeem myself, it was lost as soon as I chose to fall asleep this morning, rather than actually pay attention to announcements.

"I wouldn't count on it." I mumble.

"Oh, come on. you get to work side by side with one of the most beautiful and smartest girls in school, how bad can _that_ be?"

Yang elbows me a few times and lifts her eyebrows. I turn a shade of red and mutter at her to shut up. I've never liked when my sister jokes with me about these things.

Just then, the door to the resource room swings open, a peeved looking Weiss scowls back at us.

"Would you two quit dilly-dallying and learn how to get somewhere on time?"

Yang scratches the back of her head guiltily. "Sorry about that pres, just showing Ruby the way."

"I don't care about your excuse. Just go sit down."

Yang walks in and I follow silently behind her, trying my best to avoid eye contact with the angry president.

The room itself is fairly big, about the size of an average living room I would assume. One wall has a white board on it, while another, that faces towards the football and track field, has two huge windows running across it.

Other than that, there's another door at the back of the room, which I can only assume to be a closet. All the other available wall space is filled up with bookshelves and filing cabinets, along with some cork boards that were all stabbed thoroughly with papers and sticky-notes.

However, the most noticeable feature in the room is a big rectangular table. It's made of a dark, thick wood, and it rightfully sits in the middle of the room.

At one end of the table are two chairs, and there are three chairs on both of it's sides respectively, all of which are filled up, except for one.

Yang strides over to the empty seat and plops herself down next to Blake. The other seats are occupied by Pyrrah, some scraggly blonde boy, a girl with orange hair, and another boy who has long black hair with a purple streak in it.

Weiss goes to one of the seats at the head of the table and motions for me to take the one next to it. I quickly make my way over and sit down, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone.

I don't want to be on the presidents bad side any more than I already am, so I feel it's best if I don't argue the seating arrangement, not that I really care anyways.

Weiss clears her throat and gets a serious look on her face.

"Good afternoon, everyone. As you can clearly see, we now have a new member, who is as well our new vice president, Ruby Rose."

There are hello's said around the table and I offer a demure wave back to them and a quiet hello of my own. The girl with the spiky orange hair, who is also wearing her uniform in a more... _risqué_ way, leans forward and starts bouncing in her seat.

"Oh, she's so _cute_! What is she, a sophomore?"

Weiss gives her a look of distaste. "Nora, please, control yourself."

Yang bursts out laughing and Blake elbows her in the shoulder to make her stop.

I meekly shake my head. "Well, I should be a junior, but I skipped a grade, so I'm technically a senior."

Nora's face morphs into one of surprise and she leans back into her seat, giving the boy next to her a forceful shove on the arm.

"That's _adorable._ Oh my god, Ren. Isn't she just adorable?"

The boy with the streak in his hair - Ren - rolls his eyes. "Just adorable."

Pyrrha, who decides to cut in from her spot across the table, clears her throat and gives me a thoughtful look. Seeing her now, she seems to me like the responsible, yet playful type, and judging by the rest of the council, that might be a valuable thing.

"Well, I think it's very admirable of you to be taking on this position." She says.

I feel myself blush at all the attention I'm getting, and in spite of the shyness I'm feeling, I smile. Yang, however, happily goes along with Nora's antics and continues to embarrass me.

"Oh, I know! Isn't my baby sister just the cutest thing you've ever seen, she's like a fun size panda bear!"

Blake just rolls her eyes, looking disinterested. The blonde boy across from her looks a bit frightened and his eyes widen to look at her.

"Panda bears are kinda scary aren't they?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.

Yang shakes her head and leans back in her chair, propping her feet up on the table while doing so.

"Oh shut it, Jaune, you're scared of everything."

"I would have to disagree." Pyrrha speaks up. "I think Jaune is plenty brave."

Weiss gives an annoyed sigh and takes a seat while the rest of the council start talking and bickering among themselves. She holds a hand to her temple, eventually sliding it up and through her hair to brush some bangs out of her eyes.

"Is it always like this?" I ask her.

She glances over at me, and under the gaze of her murky blue eyes, I almost feel like she's looking through me. I feel more unbidden heat rise in my cheeks as I look down at my shoes and start twiddling my thumbs together.

"Sadly, yes, this is it." She gives an eye roll and lets out another long breath of air. "Welcome to the student council."


	2. An Unexpected Development

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 2: An Unexpected Development**

I lean my head back, so that I'm facing the clouds above, and let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding.

Today has been a long day, making me feel more exhausted than usual.

I'm currently making my way back home and mulling over the prior events from the council. Nothing much happened during the meeting, except for Weiss giving me a pamphlet for the 'rules' of being a student council member and discussing some of the upcoming events.

There aren't actually that many rules, but _god_ are they pretentious. I pull the pamphlet out of my uniforms back pocket to skim over it again.

 _Student Council Rules/Conduct Guide:_  
 _1\. Meetings are every Monday and Friday (Wednesdays if needed)_  
 _2\. Members must maintain all A's and B's on their report card, with a GPA no less than a 3.0_  
 _3\. Members must abide by all school rules and regulations, and remind others as well_  
 _4\. Members will come to meetings and activities on time, ready to work, and on their best behavior_

Just reading it makes me feel like I'm in kindergarten. I don't know how Yang has put up with this for so long, I mean, she's been in the student council for the past two years and I've rarely heard her complain about it.

Granted, I did get off to a pretty bad start with about half the people in there, considering I tried to sleep through the impromptu election. Each time I got confused about something Weiss had said during the meeting, she would just glare at me and one of the other members would have to clear it up.

 _Ice Queen._

The name seems to fit her perfectly from what I've seen.

It's like she thinks of me as some child that doesn't know what I'm doing, yet, I'm only a _year_ younger! The thought sends a surge of irritation through me.

It's not like I have a complex about my age. If anything, it's my height that makes me feel younger than I really am. Not many seventeen year-olds are just breaking into being five feet tall.

Nevertheless, Everything about Weiss irritated me to no end.

At one point, towards the end of the meeting, she just got up and left for, like, _twenty_ minutes. When she came back in, she just said the meeting was over and left without another word, like she was too important to stick around any longer.

 _I'll show her._

I crumble up the pamphlet, lift my arm back, and throw it onto the ground as hard as I can. I kick it a few times for good measure, and give a triumphant smile whilst crossing my arms.

"How do you like _that?_ "

My strange action catches the attention of a nearby woman pushing her baby along in a stroller. She looks at the piece of trash on the ground and gives me a disapproving look. I feel my face turning red and pick the pamphlet back up, mumbling a sorry as I walk by her and drop it in the nearest trashcan.

As I near the cul-de-sac where my house is, I feel a buzz and pull my phone out from my backpack.

 **Penny: How was the meeting?**

 **Ruby: Could've been worse**

 **Penny: That's wonderful! You must give me the details tomorrow!**

 **Ruby: There's not much to say tbh**

 **Penny: Well, I'm looking forward to it regardless.**

I put my phone back into my bag as I walk up the driveway to my house. I really don't want to think about today anymore.

My house is near the end of the small neighborhood I live in. All the houses are fairly close together and they all look about the same too. All except mine, since my dad repainted it in a slightly lighter green paint than the rest of the houses used.

To say the least, the homeowners association was not very happy about that.

I see Yang's bike, Bumblebee, parked next to my dad's truck, which means she beat me home. Normally, she'd drive me home every day except for when she'd have club days, but even now that I'm technically in her club, she won't drive me on days we have meetings.

She claims those are the days that she's promised to drive Blake home. I don't mind much though, since I like walking anyways.

When I open the front door I'm instantly hit with the smell of freshly baked cookies, which could only mean one thing…

"Dad!"

I kick off my shoes at the door and run into the kitchen to see my dad, apron on, pulling out fresh cookies from the oven. Yang is sitting at one of the stools next to the kitchen's island, already munching on a cookie.

I run up to my dad and throw my arms around him in a hug.

"Easy there, sport, unless you want me to drop this batch of cookies." My dad laughs as I untangle myself from him and take a step back.

"What're you doing home so early?" I ask, eagerly.

"My boss got a raise. He was in such a good mood he gave all his staff the rest of the day off."

"That's awefum!" I say, shoving one of the freshly baked cookies in my mouth.

Usually, my dad comes home around seven at night or so. We try to spend as much quality time together as possible, and since it's always dark by the time he gets back that generally means all of us watching a movie.

Even though he's all smiles and rarely shows his grump side, I know being a single parent must be hard on him.

Most of the time, he has to work super long days to help support us, and Yang works at her part-time job whenever she can to help out as well. We just get by most the time, but something my dad's always taught me is that family is worth it, and I don't think we would rather have it any other way.

At this point, I'm on my third cookie when Zwei comes trotting in from around the corner. I lean down to pet the scruffy corgi, who gladly nuzzles my hand back.

"Hey dad, guess who's gonna be the new vice president." Yang inquires with a mischievous smirk.

My dad's face lights up. "You're the new vice president, Yang? Sweetie, that's wonderful!"

"Nope, not me." she leans over to grab another cookie.

I feel my hand slow at petting Zwei. My dad looks confused for a second, but then he looks down and makes eye contact with me.

"Ruby?"

I just offer a shrug.

"It's a long story."

My dad's look of confusion, however, quickly turns into one of astonishment.

"Ruby that's amazing, I'm so proud of you! How'd this happen?"

"Ruby volunteered-!"

"-I was forced into it." Yang and I both say at the same time.

My dad looks between us and lets out a chuckle.

I realize I'm covered in Zwei hair and stand back up to brush myself off. Leaning over the counter, I grab about six cookies in my hands and prepare to walk up to my room.

"However it happened, I'm glad. You could use something to keep you occupied besides playing those video games all the time, Ruby."

I start walking up the stairs and mumble a "yeah I got it." to him.

Making my way down the hallway, I eventually reach my room towards the end.

The room itself is fairly small, my bed's in the far left corner with my nightstand right next to it. Almost everything in my room is red, from by bed spread to the walls. I have a desk positioned on the opposite end of the room, with my computer on it and a big window right beside it.

I open the door and throw my backpack down on my bed, flopping myself onto it as well and putting an arm over my eyes.

 _I didn't ask to be in this position, so I wish people would stop making it such a big deal out of it..._

I feel another buzz from my backpack and, assuming it's Penny, I open the front pocket to take my phone out. To my surprise, It's not Penny.

 **Unknown: Hello, Ruby. This is Weiss. I will need your assistance tomorrow after school in the library. Don't be late.**

I groan and slide an arm down my face. Leave it to the Ice Queen to simultaneously find a way to take away one of my free days after school _and_ do more work at the same time. I take my arm off my face and rub my temple before replying back.

 **Ruby: How'd u get my number?**

The response comes only moments later.

 **Weiss: Your sister.**

 _Goddammit Yang._

I text her back that I would be there and roll over onto my side, facing the window by my bed. This is going to be a long year.

* * *

"...What am I supposed to be doing again?"

The next day I meet Weiss after school in the library, as I was so _graciously_ asked to, and was greeted with a lovely stack of papers being shoved into my face.

She told me something along the lines of papers being stapled wrong, but she explained it so fast I was still unsure.

There were a few students hustling about or studying in the library, but it was pretty empty for the most part. This was a good thing, however, since Weiss had enough papers laid out to cover two whole tables.

She's wearing her uniform as neat as always, with her vest buttoned up all the way, her ribbon perfectly tied, and her skirt free of any wrinkles. I, myself, opted for pants instead of a skirt; they're just more comfortable to me, and I've never really been one for keeping up with appearances.

Weiss on the other hand, looks like she just stepped out of some fashion magazine, with her white hair put up into a ponytail and all those perfect features of her face. Even her scar somehow manages to look flawless.

She was undeniably gorgeous, well, except for the scowl she was giving me right now.

"Ruby, for the _last time_ , these are student's career surveys." Weiss flips some unwanted hair over her shoulder. "The main office told us that this stack was stapled wrong. I already took out the old staples so we just have to match the name on the first page with the name on the second page. When you find the correct papers staple them together and put them in a pile. Sound easy enough?"

I scrunch up my nose, looking at all the papers we had to go through.

I would say the stack and all of the papers, including the ones scattered about the tables, were the equivalent of about two dictionaries stacked on top of each other.

"Why can't we do this during a meeting, or when everyone is here?" I ask.

Weiss sighs and holds a hand to her temple.

"The lady in the office said they were due in by tomorrow. So, we're doing it now."

"But why am I the only one helping?"

Despite my protest, I grab a few papers and start looking among some of the others on the table, trying to find a right match.

"Because, Ruby, you're the vice president." Irritation was seeping into Weiss's voice as she staples two papers together and continued searching through the rest. "I would have preferred to do it myself, but it was far too much work for one person."

"Yeah, but why not get some of the others to help with us?"

Weiss spares me an irritated glance and I try to ignore it and continue looking through the papers.

"Everyone else is generally unavailable on Tuesdays. Mainly due to other club meetings and jobs."

"Do you have a job?" I ask as I try to staple two papers together and somehow end up stapling the table instead.

Weiss comes over and brushes my hand off the stapler, making me move to the side and hold my hands up in surrender. She does it correctly and adds it to the pile, shooting me another one of her glares. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen her smile.

"I help my father out with my family's company from time to time."

I sit down at one of the chairs next to the table and rest my head on my hands. Looking up at the president, I notice she has that faraway look in her eyes again, as though she wasn't completely there. I feel a little bad for complaining so much, so I do my best to lighten the mood.

"That's really cool! What company is it?"

A robotic reply is sent my way.

"It's Schnee Bank."

"What kinda stuff do you do?"

Weiss gives an annoyed huff. "If you're just going to sit there and do nothing but run your mouth, you might as well leave."

I feel my eyes widen. I quickly stand back up and try to redeem myself, grabbing a new stack of papers.

We work in silence for about ten minutes while I try my best to avoid all eye contact with Weiss. I was just trying to be friendly, so why was she being so mean to me? I didn't ask to be here, in fact I was _demanded_ to be here.

My dad always tells me you don't know what others are going through, and that you should give everyone a chance.

Well, that's just bullshit.

I gave Weiss the benefit of the doubt at first, but I've just chalked her up to being a pretentious asshole at this point. I got a super irritated, and granted, more defensive than I should've been in a spur of the moment anguish of my thoughts.

"I didn't ask to be here ya'know." I grumble.

I glance up and see Weiss clenching the papers she has in her hand. She looks peeved.

"I didn't ask for you to be here either." she shoots back at me.

"Uh, yeah, you kinda did."

"I _mean_ in student council you dunce." She points an angry finger my direction. "I have enough work to do as it is, I don't have time to teach an immature, unwilling, child."

Her voice starts to rise and I realize mine's rising too.

"I'm only a year younger than you!" I shout back indignantly.

"Well you act like its _five_ years!"

" _Yeah_? Well, _you_ act like a pretentious, grade-A, _bi_ -"

Whatever was going to come out of my mouth was stopped with a loud cellphone ringtone. Weiss and I are both leaning over the table, probably looking like we're about to bite the other's head off. Weiss just leans back and scoffs.

"Here you are getting me to stoop down to your _juvenile_ level." She takes her phone, the source of the ringing, out of her blazer's front pocket and starts walking away to take her call.

I'm pretty sure I make a snarling noise at her. "Whatever, _Princess_."

She goes behind a bookshelf and I'm left trying to calm myself down. I quietly seethe as I overhear bits and pieces of Weiss's conversation. I wasn't trying to listen, really, she was just in hearing range.

"Hello?... Yes I understand… I told you I would be doing student activities today… This weekend?... I'm not sure if-… Yes, of course… Of course I will… Goodbye."

Weiss comes back around, seeming to be paler than usual. Not that I was paying attention.

"Anything the matter, princess?"

She looks like she's about to make a snarky comeback, but bites her tongue.

"Ruby, I-" Weiss makes a weak gesture of surrender and put her hands on her hips. "Look, I'll be right back. Just continue working on this… please." and with that, she strolls around the corner and out the library's heavy double doors.

 _Running away?_

I almost feel bad for thinking it, almost.

I sigh and continue to sort through random papers. Within a few minutes I find a couple names that match and I silently celebrate. From what we had already done, before we started arguing, we should be able to finish within the next hour or so. That is, when Weiss comes back. I look at the clock to notice it had been about five minutes and I start wondering where Weiss had gone.

 _Well, what she doesn't know won't hurt her._

I plop myself back down and nestle my head into my arms. While the ice queen is off stalking around and doing who knows what, I'll just catch some shut eye.

* * *

I unceremoniously lift my head off of my sleeves, leaving a long line of drool coming with it.

The first thing that hits me is that I really need to pee.

The second thing is, _where's Weiss?_

I cross my legs under the table and look up at the clock. It had been thirty minutes. _Thirty minutes, a_ nd still no Weiss? Maybe she really did just leave me here to finish this myself; not that I _would_ finish it if that was the case.

There's one part of me says she'd totally just left me here, but another part said that's not something she would do as the President. She even left her disgusting blindingly white backpack here. I decide I would go pee first, and then text her or something to see how much I must have pissed her off.

At this point it was about four o'clock and the only person left in the library was one of the librarians, who was putting away some books. She smiles at me and I give her a wave as I push open the double doors to look for the nearest bathroom.

I walk down the hall and enter the first restroom I spot.

This particular one has three stalls, one big stall at the end, and a row of sinks across from them that had one big mirror going across it. The big stall was closed, so I went to the one closest to the door to relieve myself.

The walls in the bathroom were pretty grey, although they look like they could've been blue at some point in time. As I exit the stall I notice one of the faucets already has a drizzle of water coming out of it, so I walk over to turn it off. It made a squeaking noise that made me cringe a little, but I realize I still need to wash my hands.

As I put my hand up to the soap dispenser I hear a shuffling noise from the big stall.

I stop my hand and listened for a second; I didn't hear anything and was about to just leave it alone, when I hear a sniffle. I glance over at the stall and debate whether I should say something, or if I should just leave. After an internal battle I walk up to the door of the stall and knock lightly.

"Hello?"

Silence.

Even the shuffling had completely stopped. I back up a bit and thought that maybe I should just leave, but another part of me wants to make sure this person is okay.

"I know someone's in there. I just want to make sure you're not hurt..."

Again, silence.

Every bone in my body was telling me to leave it. However, if I wasn't crazy and there really was a person in there that was hurt, I wouldn't forgive myself if I walked out now. I shuffle back over to the stall to knock again when I notice from the crack in the door, it wasn't locked. I gently pull it open.

And what I saw rocked me.

There, in the corner of the stall, was Weiss.

But not the confident, big-headed Weiss I had known. This couldn't be her. This Weiss was shoved into as tight a ball as she could make, rocking herself back and forth rather violently.

For a moment I was so stunned all I could do was stare. This was not what I was expecting in the least.

She wasn't even looking at me; she was staring straight ahead, looking completely distraught and taking in frantic gasps of air. That was enough to shake me out of the confusion I was in and stumble over to her.

"Oh my god, _Weiss!?_ What's wrong? Are you okay?"

I put a hand on her shoulder but she doesn't acknowledge I'm there, she just keeps rocking. I start panicking.

"Do you need something? What can I do? _Weiss?_ Can you hear me?"

She turns her head away from me, so that I see the back of her ponytail. It had become so loose it almost came out of her hair entirely. She continues to look away, but I notice her rocking had become a bit less frantic, and her breathing less rapid.

"What do I do?" I was asking myself more than anything else at this point.

However, I hear her make a small noise, almost like a whine, and I lean in to see if I can hear her better.

"What was that, Weiss?"

"Bag… Medicine…" Was her barely coherent reply.

 _She must have medicine in her backpack._

I get up and start running to the library where I last saw her backpack.

"I'll be right back! Don't move!" I yell as I plow open the door.

I wasn't really worried about her going anywhere, obviously, I just wanted her to know I wouldn't leave her there. I run into the library and get scolded by the librarian to slow down. I give her a quick apology, but I'm far more concerned about Weiss having some sort of mental break down right now to actually care.

 _Oh my god. What if I caused it?_

I try to shake the thought as I grab her backpack off the table where she left it, once again ignoring the librarian's scolding as I shoved open the doors. I trip over my feet as I slam open the bathroom door and land face first on the cheap, cold tile.

"Dolt." I hear from the stall.

As I got up I smile at the insult, knowing that Weiss must be somewhat lucid.

I finish my run to the bathroom stall to see her still huddled into a ball but with her head looking up at me. I don't know why I was surprised by this, but she didn't have any tears on her face whatsoever.

I hold out the bag to her and she snatches it, going through it until she found a small orange pill bottle labeled: **Alprazolam: Xanax**

She feverishly opens the lid and swallows one dry, then proceeds to stick her head between her legs. I silently sit down next to her and we stay this way for a few minutes.

It's Weiss who breaks the silence first.

"Thank you."

I look over at her; she's now resting her head on top of her knees but is refusing to look me in the eye.

"Do you want to tell me what that was about?" She says nothing, so I decide maybe I should try and lighten the mood. "You're not trying to ease yourself off of some drugs I hope?" I say, eyeing the bottle.

Weiss gives an amused chuckle, but I can tell her heart wasn't in it.

"I wish." She waits a second and I don't try to rush her. "I get panic attacks." She simply states.

"Oh." Is all I manage to say and I immediately kick myself for it.

 _You can't think of anything better to say than that?_

"I'm so pathetic." Weiss says with a melancholy chuckle. "I _hate_ it when that happens. It makes me feel like some freak."

I look away from her and down at my sneakers. "I… I wasn't the one that caused it was I?"

Weiss finally looks over at me and waits until I turn my eyes back towards her. She reaches towards me and… thumps me on the forehead.

"Ow!?" I yelp, holding my hands to my temple.

"Of course not you _dunce!_ Do you even know what a panic attack _is?_ " Weiss asks incredulously.

"It's where you… panic? Right?"

Weiss lets out a bitter sigh.

"There's more to it than that... I get them when I think too much, or when I fight with my parents. Sometimes I get them for no other reason than fate wanting to royally screw me." Weiss gives a huff of annoyance "My dad keeps calling me, trying to get me to sing at one of his company's promotional banquets and I guess I just kind of… snapped."

"That sounds like it sucks." I confide.

"That's one way of putting it." Weiss nods her head and then rests it back onto her knees.

We stay quiet for a minute until, again, Weiss breaks the silence.

"Thank you, Ruby. I'm sorry for treating you like a child when it was really _me_ who was being the childish one."

I smile shyly. "Don't mention it, I just did what anyone would do. And I was kinda giving you a hard time, so I'm partially to blame." I look over and see Weiss trying to turn away from me, her face turning a light shade of pink.

"Aww! Are you _blushing?"_ I ask, leaning forward to get a better look.

 _Thunk_

"Owie!" I hold a hand to my freshly thumped forehead. "Weiss!? What was that for!?"

Weiss scowls at me. "I'm not good at giving apologies and if you tell anyone about any of this, I'll actually kill you."

I just laugh, knowing this was her way of trying to break the ice.

"Aye aye, captain."


	3. I Won't Leave You

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 3: I Won't Leave You**

It's been about two weeks since Weiss's episode and, thankfully, nothing has happened since.

As soon as we had made our truce, and Weiss had calmed down enough to exit the restroom, we were faced with a pretty pissed off librarian lady. I got quite the earful about running in the halls and how dangerous it is for the next five minutes after that.

As for how the survey stapling went, well, even though it took a lot longer than it should have, we finished it eventually. I stayed with Weiss as she waited for someone to pick her up, even after being told numerous times it wasn't necessary. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. Once Weiss's driver came to pick her up, we then went our separate ways.

Everything was back to normal... except that it wasn't.

Since Weiss's meltdown, I've tried to keep a pretty close eye on her. She's in about half of my classes so we see each other every day, and I try and keep as close to her as I can. I see myself as her sort of guardian in a way, now that I know her secret, it gives me a strange sense of pride and purpose.

We've even been exchanging texts more frequently. Not just the _'I need you to do this'_ or _'meet me here after school for club work'_ texts, the more _'How are you feeling'_ and _'shut up and stop blowing up my phone'_ type texts. The latter being from Weiss, but one day she'll appreciate them.

Currently, I'm sitting beside the president herself, along with the rest of student council doing various activities in the club room.

Weiss and I were cutting posters for the up in coming chalk-walk that we'd hang next week, Blake was at one of the filing cabinets sifting through some files as Yang, who is sitting next to her on a pulled up chair, was handing her different manila folders to put into the cabinet.

On the other side of the room Jaune and Ren are printing the posters, with Nora setting them in neat piles to be handed over for cutting out. Pyrrah sits at one of the various chairs in the table doing some of the financing for the school budget.

"What is a chalk-walk anyways?" I ask to no one in particular.

"Oh, it's awesome." Yang says while handing Blake a folder. "Last year some guy who didn't know he was allergic to chalk started drawing with one and his face blew up like an _actual_ balloon." Yang breaks out into a fit of laughter, and I can't help but giggle thinking of the image in my head.

Weiss _tskd_ at us.

"The chalk-walk," she begins. "Is a day where the fine arts students can show their talent by drawing on one of the squares in the sidewalk at the front of the school."

"Ooh!" I say, getting excited.

"And we're supervising it." She finishes.

"Boo." I disapprove, with my head falling on the table.

"Hey Ice Queen, why so _chalky?_ " Yang jests, raising her eyebrows. "eh?"

Everyone simultaneously booed her then. Yang erupts into another fit of laughter and Blake rolls her eyes. The others mostly laugh at how horrible of a joke it was as Weiss just sighs and looks down.

I, however, stand up from my chair, letting it clatter loudly behind me.

"Don't call her that."

Everyone in the room simultaneously turns to look at me.

"What?" Yang asks, not getting what I was talking about.

"I said, _don't call her that_." I repeat, my voice surprisingly venomous.

Yang, along with everyone else, gapes at me while looking quite taken aback. Weiss looks mortified.

" _Ruby_!" she hisses at me. I look down at her to see a pleading look in those deep blue eyes.

"I'm not just gonna let h!-"

"Geez Rubes, I'm sorry." Yang says, awkwardly scratching the back of her head. "Didn't know you hated nicknames so much."

There were some nervous chuckles throughout the room and Weiss pulls me back into my seat by my uniform's sleeve.

"Don't make a scene you dolt."

I feel a pang of guilt, not for what I had just said, but because just a few weeks ago I thought of her like that as well. Weiss briskly recovered and turned her attention back to her work.

"Blake how are the files on those student academic reports going?"

Blake, who had turned her back to try and avoid being part of the scene I'd made, turns back around and looks over at Weiss.

"Pretty good for the most part except…" She trails off at the end.

"Except what?"

"Well, it looks like we're missing students with last names D through F."

Weiss mumbles to herself for a moment and looks deep in thought as she curls her point finger below her chin.

"Yes… I think I left those in my study when I was making sure everything was in order. I'll retrieve them once I get home and bring them in first thing Monday morning, sorry for the inconvenience." She says.

Blake nods and returns to the filing cabinet.

"Can I come with you?!" I ask hopefully, wanting to see where Weiss lives.

"To where, I might ask?"

Weiss turns he head towards me, but keeps the rest of her body at perfect posture. I should ask her how she does that sometime.

"To get the reports of course!"

Weiss looks hesitant. "And why would I need your help doing that?"

 _Quick, Ruby, think of an excuse._

"To help you make sure everything's… in the right order and whatnot! So how 'bout it?"

 _Nailed it._

"It couldn't hurt having someone double checking" Blake murmures.

Yang cut in from her seat as well.

"Totally! And Ruby's got a pretty keen eye when it comes to that sort of thing."

I silently thank Yang, already having forgiven her for her earlier comment.

Weiss taps her heel on the floor and then gives a thoughtful nod.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have an extra hand."

* * *

"It hurrrrrts." I complain.

"Well, _maybe_ if you stopped acting like a hyperactive puppy you wouldn't have stubbed your foot on that doorframe."

I make a whining sound as I over-dramatically limp beside Weiss on the way to her house.

I'd been so excited to see where she lived that as I ran out the student resource room's door, I tripped over the bottom of the doorframe. Weiss had actually seemed concerned for a second, right before snorting and stepping over me.

"Listen Ruby," Weiss starts, making me stop limping and snap to my correct posture. "What happened back in the club room… just, don't do it again."

The tone of voice she uses irritates me.

"Don't you hate it when people say things like that about you though?"

Weiss flips her head to the side, moving some perfectly cut bangs out of her face.

"Not really." Is all she says.

She starts walking a bit faster than me and I have to speed up to meet her pace. Turning to her, I gave her a skeptical look and Weiss sends a glare my way.

"Okay, maybe it does bother me a _little,_ but there's no point arguing about it, and with your sister nonetheless."

"It doesn't matter who says it." I huff.

"Everyone has bad things said about them, Ruby," Weiss begins to slow her pace back to normal. "Just don't make such a scene next time."

I slow my pace down as well and, still looking over at Weiss, trace my gaze over the scar running down Weiss's eye. I guiltily nod my head and grip my backpacks straps.

"Sorry, I won't cause another sce-"

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I end up face down on the ground.

I had been so busy staring at Weiss, I hadn't noticed the bright red fire hydrant that had come up to trip me. It had awkwardly caught one of my legs making me fall halfway on top of it and then onto the ground.

I look up to see Weiss has stopped and was looking at me, wide eyed with her mouth half way open, like she was about to ask if I were okay. At least, that's what I thought until she burst out laughing.

"You really are a dunce." She says, holding her chest from how hard she was laughing.

All I do is stare at her.

Something about her laugh left me breathless.

* * *

Weiss's home was _huge._

Maybe not, like, mansion huge, but it was a ginormous. From the outside it looks like it has to be at least three stories tall and was painted a brilliant bright white that's accentuated with marble pillars and railings.

We walk up to the front door and Weiss opens it with a key that was under a plant on one of the window sills. She pushes the door open and tells me to leave my shoes at the door while she goes to get the reports from her study. She then points for me to go sit in the living room and makes a mention not to touch anything.

I go and sat down on one of the couches, marveling at how grand everything was. The living room was pretty roomy and is right off to the side of the entryway; At the end, there's a big stairway Weiss had gone up that separated both sides of the house it seems.

As I'm waiting, I look over and see a single picture hanging next to a big flat screen on the other side of the room. It strikes me as odd that there wouldn't be many pictures on the wall so I go over to take a look.

It's a picture of what appears to be a younger Weiss, a little bit older than a toddler it seemed, and an older woman. It looks like they're wearing puffy white outfits, and holding a sort of sword in both of their hands. However, the one thing about the picture that stood out to me more than anything was that Weiss didn't have that scar over her eye.

"Nosey as always, I see."

I jump back from the picture and turn around to see Weiss walking down the stairs. Upon doing a double take, I notice she had changed out of her uniform and was now wearing a plain blue shirt and a skirt.

"I didn't know you fenced?" I say, pointing to the picture.

Weiss doesn't respond. She just walks over to me and shoves some papers into my hands.

"I used to."

My eyes widen with interest at the idea of Weiss wielding some sort of weapon.

"That's so cool! Why'd you-"

"Ruby, the faster this gets done, the faster you can go home and do… whatever it is you do in your free time."

Knowing this is Weiss's way of saying _'I don't want to talk about it'_ I shut myself up and nod. She goes over and sits down on one side of the coffee table in the middle of the room and I make my way over to sit down on the other side.

"All the reports should already be in order, we're just doing a double-check."

We go through papers for a while, mostly in silence, except for me occasionally asking if something was correct or not. At one point, Weiss even brings us some juice and crackers from the kitchen to munch on while we worked.

I catch myself looking back at the picture on the wall a few times, questions racing in my head. I decide now is as good a time to investigate as any.

"Is that your mom?" I say, nodding to the picture and simultaneously shoving a cracker in my mouth.

Weiss glances over and stares at it a moment before responding.

"It's my sister, Winter."

"You have a _sister!?_ " I almost spit out the cracker in my mouth.

Weiss looks at me distastefully before responding.

"Please don't speak with your mouth full, and, yes, I do have a sister. A younger brother as well."

I swallow and raise my eyebrows at her.

"Where are they? Come to think of it, actually, where are your parents?"

Weiss gets a faraway look in her eyes and I immediately feel horrible for asking.

From what she told me in the bathroom a few weeks ago, her family situation isn't exactly good. I feel like I'm getting Weiss to open up a bit and I don't want to ruin it by asking a wrong question.

Weiss seems to recover quickly though, continuing to rifle through more papers as we speak.

"Well, as you know my father runs a big company, so he's generally out for business. My mother helps him with it, which means she's away most of the time too." Weiss's paper shuffling slows, but she still appears to be unfazed by my questions.

"And your siblings…?" I question.

"My brother prefers to be with my father, learning the tricks of trade and whatnot. Winter joined the military when I was about six."

"Were you close?"

"Very close…" Weiss, unknowingly, puts a finger to her face and slides it gently, perfectly, down her scar.

I feel myself gulp. I can't help but ask the question that's been nagging me since I saw the photo.

"What happened?"

Weiss looks up and actually meets my eyes for the first time since we started talking. I can feel my face heat up from her empty stare, but I'm not sure why.

"Nothing really-"

"That's a lie." I cut her off, pointing to the spot on my face where she had been touching her scar a moment ago.

Her eyes widen and she violently jerks herself around so that she's facing away from me. Weiss looks down and holds her head in her hands.

 _No going back now._

I get up from my spot and gently walk over to other side of the table to lean down onto the floor next to her. I put my hand on her shoulder and give it a quick squeeze of reassurance.

"I'm so pathetic." Weiss states into her hands.

"You are _not_ pathetic, Weiss. Just tell me what's wrong." I plead.

She sniffs and lifts her head up a little. I could tell she wasn't crying, but she must be close.

"It was only a sparing incident. _I_ was the one at fault for not wearing a helmet. The whole thing was just _stupid_."

She hiccups and I can see tears threatening to spill down her eyes.

"It's okay, Weiss. You don't nee-"

"No. I do need to talk about it. My father was furious, that's how my training got cut off. He told me and Winter we would never spar again, and a month later she enrolled herself into military school. She didn't say anything about it, _no_ , I had to hear it from mom a week later. She didn't even tell me goodbye. She just _left_ , Ruby. She l _eft_ me."

I pull Weiss into a full on hug as tears threaten to spill over my eyes as well. The hug's kind of awkward since I'm on my knees and burying my face into Weiss's stomach. However, she doesn't seem to mind since I feel her head rest on top of my back.

"I won't leave you." I murmur.

Weiss is silent for a moment. She looks up to me, tears glistening on her pale cheeks. I feel my heart skip a beat and my chest is enveloped in an unknowing pain.

"Promise?" she asks, her voice almost cracking.

Another beat.

" _I Promise."_


	4. Joyride

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 4: Joyride**

I open the front door to my house and kick off my sneakers at the entry way.

The house is quiet for the most part, which means my dad wasn't home yet, but I can hear the TV in the living room. This was most likely Yang, she likes to watch TV when procrastinating on school work. I did wonder sometimes how she managed to stay in student council with her barely passing grades.

I left Weiss's house earlier, but only once she'd calmed down. After that, she saw me off and I told her I would text her later. I needed some time to process all of what she'd told me anyways.

I walk down the hallway and stop at the entrance of the living room. I look around the corner to see Yang sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on our coffee table. She must have heard me enter the room because she glances over at the archway with a smile.

"Hey, Ruby. I didn't hear you come in." She grabs the remote beside her and turns down the volume of the TV. "How was Weiss's house? Get everything sorted?"

"Yeah." Is all I say, as I continue to stand there and fiddle with my backpack straps.

Yang takes notice of my strange behavior and gives me a questioning look.

"What's wrong, Rubes?"

I gulp hesitantly. "Well… I… I wanted to apologize for what I said to you earlier today, in the club room."

Yang's face softens a little.

"No, I should be the one apologizing." She sighs. "It was me who was out of line. We've always called Weiss that jokingly. I never really stopped to think if it might upset her or something."

I vigorously shake my head. "I overreacted. I was the one out of line."

"How about we were both being a bit dramatic?" Yang looks over and offers me a smile.

I give her a smile back and then we both chuckle.

"Maybe a little bit." I say.

"Truce?"

"Truce."

I grin and give Yang a wave, signaling that I'm about to go up to my room. First thing I normally do after school is get out of my stuffy uniform and set my bag down.

However, as I start climbing the stairs, I'm called out to from the living room.

"Oh wait, Ruby!" Yang yells from the living room.

"Yeah?" I call back.

"Dad said he left you something in the garage. I think you should go check it out."

 _Something for me?_

"Will do!"

I race up the rest of the stairs and throw my bag down on my bed, along with my backpack and my uniform jacket. It was a Friday, so I wasn't really worried about laying anything out neatly.

I'm not really sure what it could be that my dad left me, but I like surprises, so I'm excited nonetheless. I run back down the steps and into the kitchen, where the door leading into the garage is. I swing it open and turn on the light switch, waiting a moment for my eyes to adjust.

Yang's motorcycle sits in its designated spot and the place where my dad parks his truck is empty, since he's still at work. The only thing different about the garage was a big plastic garbage bag that's sitting in the corner. It looks like it's covering something, so I jog over to it and eagerly yank the tarp off.

I blink a few times and turn my head to the side as I realize what I'm looking at.

It's a red bicycle, brand new by the looks of it, with a shiny and sleek design. There's a black seat and handlebars with grips on them. It looks so _cool_ , random as all heck, but cool.

I immediately take out my phone from my back pocket and call my dad. He picks up within a few rings.

 _"Hello? Ruby?"_

"Dad! You got me a bike?!"

I hear him chuckle over the line.

 _"You know how I said my boss got a raise a few weeks ago?"_

"Yeah."

 _"Well, as it turns out, everyone working for the company gets one too, so I got you something to celebrate!"_

"Dad, you should've gotten yourself something to celebrate! Not something for me."

I hear him guffaw over the phone, making me cringe and hold it further away from my ear.

 _"Nonsense! I figured you might want something to ride on going to and from school, since Yang can't drive you back on your meeting days. Do you not like it?"_

I look over the sleek bike again. It did look _really_ cool. It kind of looks like one of those bikes used for BMX.

"I love it."

 _"Well great! The guy at the store told me I couldn't return it anyways."_

"Dad!"

 _"I knew you'd like it, so it wasn't an issue."_ I hear some shuffling in the background and some muffled voices. _"I've got to get back to work, sweetie, I'll be home in a few hours and we can give it a test run then. I Love you, bye."_

"Bye, dad."

I hang up the phone and take another minute to marvel at the bike, feeling the handlebars and testing the pull brakes on them.

I look down and notice the back wheel has two medal rods sticking out of the cogset. This gives me an idea. I take out my phone and text Weiss.

 **Ruby: Weiss!**

She doesn't respond immediately, so I make my way back into the house and start walking up to my room. Just as I sit down at my computer, I feel a buzz from my back pocket.

 **Weiss: Yes, Ruby?**

 **Ruby: What r u doing after school on Monday?**

 **Weiss: We have a meeting on Monday.**

 **Ruby: I mean** _ **after**_ **the meeting.**

 **Weiss: I'm unsure. Why?**

I debate on telling her what I'm planning, but decide against it, opting for a mysterious approach instead.

 **Ruby: Do you like surprises?**

* * *

"Ruby Rose, you would have to be _insane_ to think I'm getting on that."

Our meeting has just ended, and I told Weiss to come with me outside. She did so without much argument, except for repeatedly saying how much she hates surprises.

I told her to wait at the front while I secretly went around the side of the school to get my new bike off the bike rack. When I had ridden it back around the school and stopped in front of her, she'd given me a look of disbelief.

"It's completely safe though!" I say, pointing to the back wheel. "All you have to do is stand on the metal foot thingy's. I'll do all the pushing!"

She gives me a look of skepticism.

"The _foot thingy's?_ You don't even know what they're _called?_ "

"What they're called is beside the point!" I exclaim.

"If the point was to persuade me _even more_ into not getting on that, then I'd say you did pretty good job."

"Weeeisssss!" I complain loudly.

A few of the remaining students standing around outside the school look over to where Weiss and I are. I hear a few chuckles and Weiss's face turns bright red.

"Fine. _Fine_. Just shut up, people are staring."

I smile triumphantly as she walks over and stares at the back of the bike for a moment.

"You put-" I start to explain, but Weiss cut me off.

"I know how to get on the back of a bike you dolt. It's not exactly rocket science."

I huff as she shakily steps on one of the back petals and I push us off so that we gain balance. It's surprisingly a lot easier than I expected it to be.

I start pedaling towards the schools exit when I'm suddenly very aware of Weiss's hands on my shoulders. I push the thought away as we exit the school and I start pedaling faster down the sidewalk.

"Where are we going, anyways?" she questions.

I take one of my hands off the handle and run it through my matted hair.

"Not sure." I say.

I hear Weiss snicker.

"Leave it to you to get me on a deathtrap like this and then have the nerve to say you don't even _know_ where were going."

I stand up off my seat and start to pedal harder and I can feel Weiss grip on to my shoulders slightly tighten. We start flying down a hill and I stop my pedaling to feel the breeze in my face. My hair blows backwards and my hands grip the handles harder as a huge smile appears on my face.

"This is an adventure, Weiss." I turn my head towards her so she can hear me over the wind. "Let's see where it takes us!"

* * *

I watch the scenery go by as we pass neighborhoods that have kids playing in the front yards and people walking their dogs along the sidewalks.

We pass cute little shops that have trinkets on display, and a little more than one to many flashy signs in their windows. We pass by people walking amongst themselves on the streets, talking on cell phones or just going about their daily business.

We pass by picket fences that are so old they have vines growing all over them that were starting to bud flowers. We pass down busy streets that make us have to keep stopping and pressing the walk button to get across, and we pass parks, lakes, screaming kids in strollers, local businesses, even restaurants that look as though they could be shut down at any moment.

I realize I've never seen so much of the town I've lived in my whole life. It was truly eye-opening and serene.

 _And there is no one else I would rather share this with._

As we come up to a clearing, outlined by a patch of tall oak trees, my mind starts to wander.

What were me and Weiss? Does she even think of me as a friend?

I know she must not think badly of me, regardless of how she acts, considering how much I feel like she's opened up to me.

However, something keeps nagging me in the back of my mind that I'm just an annoyance to her. Someone that found her in the wrong place, at the wrong time, that she was forced to reveal her worst weakness to.

If you don't count student council work, she's never _once_ called out to me of her own volition. She's never _once_ made any attempt to make casual conversation, even if she does go along with my own. And she's never _once_ invited me anywhere or accepted any of my invitations to do anything, until today, when I didn't even tell her what we were going to be doing.

I feel something strange bubble up in my chest, causing me to grip the handle bars even tighter.

Weiss pats my shoulder with one of her hands and points off to the side on the opposite side of the road. I can feel her lean down closer to me; close enough to feel her warm breath in my ear.

"Look."

I focus my view to where she was pointing. Across the road is a huge water reservoir; it had to be at least three miles wide. The water itself looked deeply blue, but also murky at the same time.

"Do you want to stop and take a look?" I ask.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Weiss give a quick nod and I start slowing my pace. I suddenly start to feel fatigue in my legs catching up with me, and am silently thankful for the pit stop.

I look both ways to make sure the road is clear, before gently swerving us off the sidewalk to the other side. I stop as soon as we hit the grass, which makes us sway slightly. I feel the pressure of Weiss's hands on my shoulders subside as she lets go. She then proceeds to cautiously hop off the back of the bike and start walking over to the water.

I lay the bike down in the grass and jog over to where she's kneeling on both feet next to the reservoir.

"I had no idea this was here." She says, dipping one of her delicate fingers into the water and starting to swirl it around.

"Me neither." I say.

Continuing to stand and stare out over the water, I start to feel mesmerized by the stillness of it. I'm only snapped out of it when I hear Weiss speak quietly next to me.

"It's very peaceful here."

She closes her eyes for a moment and I drop down next to her, sitting crisscross along the shore line.

"Very." I agree.

We sit there in comfortable silence as I listened to some birds chirping in the distance and the faint hum of cars occasionally driving by. I start to wonder how long we've been riding around for, when I see the sun starting to dip below the tree line.

Weiss continues swirling her finger around in the water, making different patterns and shapes. Her bangs ghost over her eyes as she looks deep in thought. The sunlight behind the swaying trees cast shadows that dance across her face and highlight the scar that runs perfectly down her left eye. She really is undeniably pretty.

"Weiss, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

I fiddle with a blade of grass between my hands as I speak.

"Why'd you join the student council?"

Weiss takes her finger out of the water and shakes it off, proceeding to rest her head onto her knees.

"My sister was in the student council when she was in high school." She says, flipping some bangs out of her eyes and looking out across the water. "I wanted to be just like her when I was younger."

"What about now?" I question.

Weiss scrunches up her nose and lets out a long breath of air.

"I'm not so sure about now." She says quietly. "It's just that- she was my role model. The _one_ person I could look up to when I was little. She was the one that got me into fencing in the first place."

Weiss then gives a bitter laugh and leans back on her hands.

"And I was the one who messed it all up. I always am."

I frown at her words. When I see the dejected look on her face, I grit my teeth, feeling concern building up in me.

"Nonsense, what happened was an accident from what you've told me. You can't blame yourself for that."

"Ruby, I haven't been fair to you."

I give her a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

Weiss doesn't respond, instead, she just stands up, dusting of her uniform and turning around. She scans the ground until spotting something she's looking for and walks a few feet away. She then picks up a pebble, about the size of a quarter and tosses it back and forth between her hands.

"Have you ever skipped stones before, Ruby?"

I shake my head.

Weiss walks back down to the water and flicks her wrist so that it skips on the water, one, two, three times.

"Come here. I'll show you."

I stand up and walk over to where Weiss is. She tells me that we first need to find some suitable rocks for throwing.

We spend about five minutes walking around the side of the reservoir looking for as many pebbles as we can carry. I start holding them in the pockets of my uniform jacket until they start overflowing and falling out.

I try to frantically pick the stones up and hear Weiss giggle from a few yards away. Feel that same pang in my chest from earlier, I try to ignore it.

"I think you have enough now, Ruby."

I give her an embarrassed smile and scratch the back of my head as I make my way over. We put the stones we collected in a pile, mine making up the majority, and then we each grab one.

"It's pretty simple, actually." Weiss starts. "You hold the stone between your pointer finger and your thumb, and then you throw with your wrist."

She throws the one she was holding and it skips five times before disappearing beneath the water with a satisfying _plop_.

"Wow." I say, amazed at how easily she's able to do it.

I grip the rock the way she just showed me, determined to get it right on the first try, but she shakes her head at me before I have a chance to throw it.

"More gentle, here."

She grabs my hand and loosens my grip on the pebble. As her hands guide mine I take notice of how soft they are.

"Like this." She corrects.

I nod my head and twist my arm back the way she'd been doing. I toss the pebble - and as soon as it hits the water - it sinks.

I let out an aggravated sigh and Weiss raises her eyebrows at me.

"You need to flick you wrist more."

After a few more tries, and demonstrations, I finally get one of the pebbles to skip. It only skips once, but for me, it's a great feat.

"Weiss! Did you see that!? It skipped!" I exclaim, jumping up and down excitedly.

Weiss chuckles at my behavior.

"Yes, congratulations."

After she says it, almost immediately, she stops chuckling, looking down at the ground and frowning.

"...I'm sorry, Ruby."

I stop my celebrating and cock my head towards her.

"For what?" I ask, completely bewildered.

Weiss looks uncomfortable and her gazes flits out to the water momentarily.

"You've been so nice to me over the past month or so, and I've been… _not_ so nice."

"What're you talking about, Weiss? You just taught me how to skip a pebble!" I say exclaim happily, until the gravity of the situation hits me, making me kick at the ground with my shoe. "...You came along with me today even though I forced y-"

" _No_."

Weiss stomps her foot on the ground angrily. I'm taken aback and my eyes widen at the tone of her voice.

"I _wanted_ to come, Ruby. I did. I know I complain a lot, and I'm hard to deal with sometimes, I just… I-I'm not good at having friends." She whispers the last part.

Knowing this, everything seems to make a lot more sense to me, and a smile split across my face that's so big it could've cracked it open.

"You… think of me as a friend?"

"Of course." She says quietly.

I see a blush spreading across her face, making her turn away, embarrassed.

" _Aww_ , Weiss!"

I run over and hug her, picking her up off the ground. I giggle at her failing attempts to escape and angry grunts.

"Put me down _right now_ you dunce."

"Friends hug each other at times like this though!" I laugh as I set her down anyways.

 _Thunk._

"Owieee!" I grab my forehead.

"You absolutely will _not_ do that again. Let's go back now."

Weiss starts walking back to the bike and I look after her as she goes.

 _Friends._

The thought sends a flood of happiness coursing through me.


	5. New Feelings

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 5: New Feelings**

I give a loud yawn as I exit my fourth period class. It honestly surprises me how some people can actually stay awake during one of Professor Ports infamous rants.

It's a good thing I don't have that class with Weiss. She would have scolded me for sleeping, which sets a bad example for the student council.

I leisurely start walking to my locker to get my lunch, all the while trying not to get hit by other students running and shoving their way around the hallways. As soon as I spot it, I also spot a certain redhead leaning against the locker next to mine.

Penny fiddles with her bow before looking over to where I'm approaching. She smiles and waves and I adjust my hand on my backpack strap to give her a wave back.

"Sal-u-tations, Ruby!"

"Hey, Penny" I say as I enter in my locker combination.

"Will we being eating in our normal spot today?" she asks.

I give her a nod as I yank my locker open and pull out the brown paper bag containing my lunch.

"Sounds good to me."

We walk down the hallway before exiting through the set of heavy double doors that lead to the courtyard. We always eat at one of the picnic tables behind the school, since not as many kids come outside during lunch.

While we near our usual table I notice someone sitting off by himself. It's Jaune, the awkward and clammy boy from student council.

We've never really had many conversations with each other, aside from the occasional small talk during meetings. However, he looked a little down; so I decide that we should go sit next to him to keep him company.

I nudge Penny and nod to where he's sitting.

"Is that your friend?" she asks, looking over at him.

"Sort of, he's in the student council."

She turns her head to the side questioningly. Jaune continues scrolling through his phone and sighing about every five seconds.

"He looks a little… upset?" Penny says questioningly.

"Yeah, let's go say hi."

We walk over to the table that he's sitting alone at and he doesn't seem to notice us until I tap him on the shoulder.

"wha-!" Jaune whips his head to the side, his phone flying out of his hand in the process and falling into the grass near my shoes. "Oh, Ruby? Hey, uh, what're you doing here? Did you need something?"

I lean down and pick his phone up. "I guess I'm not the only clumsy one around here, huh?" I say as I hand it back to him.

"Heh, I guess not..." Jaune sheepishly rubs the back of his head while graciously accepting the phone.

"And we-" I say, motioning to me and Penny. "were wondering if you'd like some company for lunch?"

Penny gives him a smile.

"Sure, why not." He says, somewhat reluctantly.

We both sit down across from him and I pull out my peanut butter sandwich, along with some cookies, of course.

"This is my friend, Penny." I introduce to him. "Penny, this is Jaune."

They exchange their hello's as I take a big bite of my sandwich.

"Ruby told me that you work in the student council together." Penny says excitedly. "Is there anything in particular you're working on at the moment?"

"We're hanging posters today, for the chalk-walk in a few weeks." Jaune says after taking a moment to think.

"Ugh, don't remind me." I groan. "It's not even a meeting day today, how could Weiss do this to us!?" Throwing my hands in the air dramatically, I almost cause my sandwich to go flying into the grass.

Jaune looks towards the ground, ignoring my attempt at humor, while Penny giggles at my antics.

"Oh, yeah? Aren't you supposed to help supervise the event as well?" she asks.

Jaune turns his head back in our direction and nods.

"All members in the council have an assigned job." He says. "I'm supposed to run back and forth while people are drawing, bringing them the colors they ask for."

"Ha, you got errand boy!" I laugh.

Jaune looks back at me indignantly. "Yeah, and you got water girl."

I stop my cackling. Being the person that just brings people water isn't very cool, or fun for that matter.

"Well I _also_ happen to be the Vice President, so that position could change at any time." I smile triumphantly. "I've got friends in high places, if you know what I mean."

Not that I actually think I can get Weiss to switch me off water duty, but that doesn't mean I can't try.

Jaune just looks down at the ground again. Penny and I share a glance, debating if we should say anything to the obviously sulking boy. Fortunately for him, Penny's face soon grows concerned and she leans her elbows onto the table in questioning.

"Is anything the matter, Jaune? You appear to be awfully upset."

He turns his head back to us, looking surprised that he was being addressed so suddenly.

"Huh? No… not really."

All it takes is me to raising one of my eyebrows for him to give in.

"Okay, fine. You got me!" He lets out a slow sigh and looks at us warilly. "It's… Weiss."

My eyes widen.

"What about Weiss?" I ask, possibly a little _too_ fast.

I try not to sound as interested as I really am. Something about hearing her name always instantly draws my focus. Literally, I could be piloting an airplane or wrestling a bear and I would still drop everything just to hone in on whatever bit of information I could get.

Jaune scrunches up his nose and kicks some grass under the bench. His shoulders start shaking and it looks like he might actually start crying. Instead, he slams his fists down on the table and stands up off his seat, making both me and Penny let out a surprised yelp.

"She won't even give me the time of day!"

My mouth hangs slightly open and I give him a bewildered expression.

"…Uh, what?" I ask.

Jaune throws his hands in the air, making an exasperated face before slamming his fists back onto the table again.

"Weiss! I mean, what does a guy have to do around here to get her attention!?"

I think I'm in too much shock to speak. Yeah, that must be it. Penny, however, appears to have recovered much more quickly and looks thoughtfully at the scraggly boy across from us.

"Do you like Weiss?" She asks carefully.

"Yes, I like her! I text her, tell her good morning, give her flowers, _and_ open doors for her! I'm a perfect gentleman, yet she won't even acknowledge that I exist half the time! She only gives me the busy work in the council and accidentally called me Jean yesterday. _Jean._ Seriously, what am I doing wrong!?"

I don't really know what to think.

Jaune just said he _likes_ Weiss. He said he texts her and tells her good morning. The _same_ Weiss that I text and say good morning to. He also claims that he gives her flowers _and_ opens doors for her... I've never done either of those things for her.

I feel a wave of uneasiness wash over me. Uncertainty. Of what… I'm not exactly sure.

I mean, who the hell does this guy think he even is? He thinks _he_ knows what Weiss likes. I almost snort.

Weiss hates it when you treat her like a damsel. She's not one and she makes that known to anyone who crosses her path. She is the absolutely last person I can imagine showing genuine appreciation for something, especially something like opening doors or text messages, so of course Jaune would feel unappreciated.

 _You don't know the first thing about her._

"Perhaps you need to be more assertive?" Penny offers, taking a loud sip of her juice box.

"There's no way that's it. My mom says girls like guys that are passionate." Jaune says, turning over to look at me. "You're friends with her, right, Ruby?"

I snap out of my daze and look up at where he's still standing over the table.

"Eh? Oh, uh, yeah we're friends - really good friends!" I add on the last part. For some reason it seems really important to me that Jaune knows we're close to each other.

Jaune's face changes into a hopeful expression and he sits back down. "Well, what kind of stuff does she like?"

I feel bad. The way he's looking at me, practically begging for me to tell him about Weiss - and I don't want to say anything.

"hmm… she, ah… she likes uhh…"

"Chocolate? Music? Fancy restaurants? I can play a mean guitar solo. Does she like musicians?"

I don't respond. Instead, I frown and hang my head towards my lap. "I… I don't feel very good."

Sitting myself up, I start putting my mostly untouched lunch back into my bag.

Penny looks over at me, concerned.

"Ruby, are you alr-"

"I'm fine, Penny. I just need to go get some meds or something from the nurse. Bad stomach ache."

Jaune gives me a disheartened, but understanding nod as I throw my backpack onto my shoulders. I mumble my goodbyes and rush out of the courtyard, my chest tightening with each step.

* * *

When I enter the club room after school, everyone is already there. Apparently, word had gotten around and multiple people ask me if I'm feeling okay, including Weiss. I wave them off, saying the nurse had given me some medicine that made me feel better.

The thing is, I don't feel any better. I've felt nauseous ever since lunch, and not the 'I'm about to throw up' nauseous, this kind just makes me feel unsteady and irritable.

We break up into teams to hang up the chalk-walk posters in various hallways. I get paired with Blake and, to be honest, I'm a little glad it isn't Weiss. The nausea seems to get worse when I'm around her, turning into more of a sharp pain.

Blake and I walk down the first hallway and start hanging up our stack of posters. Since Blake was taller, she tapes the posters, while I hold them up to the wall.

I've found out that Blake isn't one for conversation, making me wonder how Yang is such good friends with her. They're practically polar opposites, but the more I think about it, the more it made sense, in a strange kind of way. They do say opposites attract, after all.

However, after struggling to make any sort of meaningful conversation, I eventually just stop trying.

We've done about a half of the hallway when I realize I really need to pee. I tell Blake I would be back in a few minutes and start making my way down the hall.

I walk around the corner before entering the set of double doors that lead to the next hallway over. The bathrooms on this side of the school were a lot nicer because of some renovations that had been done not too long ago. I spot the one I'm looking for and walk inside.

When I'm done I make my way over to the sink and begin washing my hands, that's when I noticed I can hear some faint voices in the corridor.

It wasn't that surprising for people to be at school after it ended, but something about the pitch of the voice catches my attention. I quickly pull a few paper towels out of the dispenser and dry my hands, then walking over to the door and hearing the voices getting louder as I near it.

"…Yes, it's a very entertaining event from what I remember running it last year."

"Sounds dope, Snow angel. Sucks you're running it again this year though, we could've hanged."

I gently push on the bathroom door, so that it's partially open. I see Weiss taping a poster to the wall as some boy with blue hair is leaning on some lockers next to her.

As soon as I see them I quickly close the door back until there was just a small slit to see out of.

 _Wait, why am I hiding?_

"Yes, a shame." Weiss says, sounding very curt.

She has a piece of tape in her hand and It looks like she's straining, even in her heels, to reach the top of the poster on the wall.

"Here, let me help you." The boy grabs the tape that was on the ground and rips a piece off. He then leans over Weiss, skimming her hand as he smooths the poster before taping it.

I feel another sharp pain and I grab my stomach. The sight makes me grit my teeth and I feel my face turn into somewhat of a snarl.

 _I don't like him._

Weiss looks surprised and turns around to face him. "Thank you, Neptune, but that was quite unnecessary. Pyrrah should be back any minute to assist me."

"Nonsense, I'll help you until she gets back." He says, winking at her.

 _I really don't like him._

Weiss gives a nod and they move a little further down the hallway to put another poster up. This time the boy, Neptune, holds it as Weiss tears off tape.

"So what're you doing this year during the ah... chalk thing?" He asks.

"I will be managing the supplies and sign in table." Weiss responds, taping another corner.

"Dope. Maybe I'll see you there?"

Weiss laughs. "I didn't think you were the artsy kind, Neptune?"

"I may have a few tricks up my sleeves."

Weiss chuckles again and I grip the cuffs of my uniform jacket tighter.

 _What's so funny about that?_

They finish hanging up the poster and move to the other side of the wall to presumably do another one.

The more I look at Neptune, the more I dislike him. It's obvious he has a thing for Weiss just by looking at his posture. I've known she has a lot of admirers, but now that I've seen two in one day, I'm starting to get the idea of how popular she really is.

"So, snow angel," Neptune states, casually leaning back against the wall. "Since you're gonna be busy next Friday, how about making it up to me. We could hang out this weekend? Watch a movie or something at my place? How does that sound?"

 _Weiss doesn't want to 'hang out' with you._

"I'm not sure, Neptune. I'm awfully busy this weekend."

Weiss continues taping and Neptune gives and exasperated sigh. "You say that _every_ weekend. C'mon, I'll even let you pick out what we watch. It'll be fun!"

 _No it won't._

Weiss looks down at the floor and I see Neptune practically leaning over her, trying to get her to say yes. The sight made me curl my fist into a ball; he was _one_ more pick up line away from me storming out of this bathroom and punching him in the face.

"I have a lot of school work. I really don't think I can. Sorry, Neptune."

He looks like he's about to say something else when I hear footsteps coming down the opposite side of the hallway. I look over to see that it's Pyrrha and breathe a sigh of relief that I don't have to intervene.

I quickly slip my way out the bathroom door and around the corner. Once I know I'm in the clear, I run back to the opposite hallway where Blake and I are supposed to be hanging posters.

I'm so irritated by how he'd treated Weiss, like she was some helpless damsel. He doesn't know Weiss.

 _I_ know Weiss.

I would like to think that I know her better than anyone at this school.

She carries so much on her shoulders and she's one of the most fearless people I've ever met. I take pride in knowing I'm one of the few people she can count on. She doesn't need people like Neptune, or Jaune for that matter, to look after her.

As I push through the last set of double doors I run smack into Blake, who catches herself by pushing onto her back foot. She looks peeved.

"Where the _hell_ have you been? It's been almost _twenty_ minutes."

"Blake," I say, before pausing. "what's your position during the chalk-walk?"

Blake blinks at me and looks confused. "What do you mean?"

"Like, what role were you assigned for it?"

Blake raises a questioning eyebrow before scrunching her eyebrows together in thought. "I think… I'm running the table with Wei-"

"Switch with me!"

There was no way I was going to let that blue haired monkey hit on Weiss again.

Blake's raises another confused eyebrow at me. "…Pardon?"


	6. Trapped

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 6: Trapped**

Today is _unbearably_ hot, too hot to even just sit here and watch people on their hands and knees drawing with brightly pigmented chalk.

Yep, today is the day of the chalk-walk.

While all the other poor suckers at this school are stuck in classes, I get to sit back, relax, and watch as students recreate their artistic designs with the cheapest material schools could buy.

At least, that's what I thought, until I started sweating so profusely I had to take off my uniform jacket and fan myself with one of the blindingly colorful pamphlets on the table in front of me.

I sit at the sign in table at the front of the school next to Weiss, who is currently having a few students fill out some of the many forms we were given.

That's our job: to sign students in, tell them where they're supposed to draw, approve their design, and send them on their way. It wasn't the most exciting thing that I could've done, but at least I can keep an eye on Weiss this way.

I even get a colorful lanyard to mark me as part of the staff, which said: _Ruby Rose, Vice President._

I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me feel super official and a little bit proud to be in charge of something, even if it is just some dinky school event.

I set the pamphlet down and opt instead to continuously pull at the collar of my shirt to help myself cool off. As I listen to Weiss drone on about some of the guidelines to a group of students, I lazily turn my head to the side and look at the other members doing their various acts.

I spot Jaune, jogging back and forth between the supplies table and students, somehow managing to not sweat up a storm. Nora and Ren are organizing the supply table and I've also occasionally been seeing them making trips to the art building to grab certain colors that were running low. Yang wasn't assigned a specific job but she was mostly just walking around, chatting with some of the students, and complimenting their designs.

My sister had told me a few days prior that she didn't want to help with the event at all, since she wasn't assigned a specific job, but it was a chance to skip an entire day of classes and Yang wasn't one to turn down an opportunity like that.

I shield my eyes from the sun and turn my head to the opposite side to see Blake, who's bending down to hand water bottles to a pair of students working on a design.

It hadn't been easy, but I practically begged her to let me switch places with her. At first she seemed annoyed at me for asking and was adamant about keeping our predetermined positions. Turns out, all it took was an offer to do the student council filing for a month - and she gave in.

Blake notices me leaning backwards in my chair and squinting my eyes in her direction; she gives me a quick wave, and I wave back at her. She then points to the water bottle in her hand and tilts her head at me, as though she was asking if I was thirsty.

I vigorously nod my head and point between me and Weiss, who had just finished talking to the students. I hold up two fingers to indicate that I wanted one for Weiss too, and Blake gave me a thumbs up before walking off.

Weiss sits back down in her chair beside me, smoothing her skirt down and fixing her jacket cuffs.

"Weisss," I complain, making her turn her attention towards me. "It's so hottt."

I dramatically drop my head back, so that it's resting on the back of my chair, and start sliding down slowly in my chair until I'm practically sitting on my back. Weiss sighs, setting her elbows onto the table to rest her head in her hands.

"Oh? And what am I supposed to do about that?" Weiss asks, clear disinterest in her voice.

I just make a groaning noise and continue to fan myself with my collar.

"How can you wear a jacket when it's over 90 degrees outside?" I ask.

"It's the proper uniform, Ruby," Weiss glances over at me but doesn't move her head off her hands. "and sit up straight, you need to be setting a good example for the lower classman."

I let out an exasperated groan again, but ultimately figure there's no point in arguing. I scooch myself back up in my seat, so I can continue watching some of the participating students draw, when I hear a quiet giggle from behind me.

"You still sound the same as ever, Weiss."

Both Weiss and I whip our heads around to see where the laugh had come from. There's a girl walking up behind us that I didn't recognize. She has reddish-brown hair with chocolate eyes to match and she was holding two water bottles in her hand.

"Blake told me you could use these." The girl says.

She walks around to the front of the table and sets the waters down in front of us; I immediately grab one and start chugging it.

Weiss gives me a distasteful look before her gaze switched to the girl, whom she gives a polite smile to.

"Velvet! It's great to see you."

"You too Weiss, we haven't really seen much of each other since last year."

I put down the, now empty, water bottle and wipe my mouth off with my sleeve. I look between the two as they chat and grow more confused as to what they're talking about by the second. Weiss notices this out of the corner of her eye and realization dawns over her.

"Oh, Ruby, this is Velvet. She was the secretary of student council last year."

Velvet offers me a shy wave. "Hello, I hear you're the vice president this year. That must be exciting!"

I meekly smile and scratch the back of my head, feeling a slight blush creep up my neck.

"It's nothing, really."

Velvet giggles again and Weiss raises an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, Ruby has been quite helpful this school year… for the most part."

I squint my eyes at her questioningly. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean? I've been plenty helpful so far."

Weiss just rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

"Yep, plenty helpful, like that time you tried to work the copy machine."

I cringe thinking about the incident. I had used a printer before, so I figured a copying machine wouldn't be _that_ different; turns out it's _very_ different. I ended up making about three hundred title pages for a report that was supposed to be ten pages long. I still haven't heard the end of it from Weiss.

"Come on, that was _one_ time."

Weiss scoffs. "Oh, yeah? What about the time when you put the approval stamps on the wrong papers? Or when you dropped the weekly schedules into that puddle?"

"The ground was slippery! It had been raining, like, _all_ day." I counter.

"Slippery or not, you're a klutz Ruby. And don't even get me started on yo-"

She's interrupted by Velvet laughing so hard she has to clutch her stomach to keep herself upright. Weiss and I make confused faces at each other.

"You two sound like some old married couple." She says, once the laughter has subsided enough for her to speak.

Both me and Weiss's eyes widen and I look away from her. I could feel my cheeks heating up and I start feeling a little bashful.

 _We look like a couple?_

"Ah, don't take that the wrong way, I think it's cute." Velvet gives us a smile. "And if it makes you feel any better, Ruby, I think you're doing a great job in the council so far."

To be completely honest, that did make me feel better to hear. I know Weiss doesn't always mean it when she's being harsh on me, but a little positive reinforcement did help every once in a while. I turn my gaze back up to Velvet and grin.

"Thanks."

Velvet nods her head and reaches into her back pocket to grab something.

"Now that we've got introductions out of the way, let me show you what I'm actually here for."

Velvet finds what she's looking for and pulls out a folded piece of paper from her pocket. She carefully unfolds the edges and hands it to Weiss, whose eyes widen.

"This is incredible. I had no idea you were participating today, Velvet."

I figure that it's probably Velvet's design and lean over in my chair to take a look. The design was fairly simple, a heart with yellow stitches going across it in all different directions. Regardless of the simple design, it did have a very aesthetically pleasing look about it.

"It's nothing special really, just a last minute design I thought of."

I shake my head. "No way, this is really cool."

Velvet gives us her thanks and Weiss shows her the guidelines and where to draw, like she did with the other students. We wave at Velvet as she turns around to leave, but as she begins walking away she turns back towards us.

"Oh yeah, are you guys going to Nora's bonfire next weekend?"

Weiss and I both look equally confused.

"She didn't tell you? Well, Nora said her parents were going to be out of town and she wanted to throw a party. You two should come."

"It's so hot though, why a bonfire?" I ask.

"It does still get down into the fifties at night." Weiss says.

Velvet eagerly nods. "I have to go start my drawing now, or it'll never get done. But I hope to see you guys there."

We wave her off again and this time she actually leaves to find her spot on the sidewalk with all the other students. I lean back in my chair and Weiss starts organizing all the different papers on the table. A bonfire sounded fun. Weiss didn't seem like the type for parties, not that I really was either, but maybe I could get her to go with me, since I _am_ her friend and all.

"Hey Weiss, wanna go to th-"

"No."

 _Well that was fast._

"Why not? It sounds fun."

Weiss stops organizing the papers on the table to glare at me. The glare didn't last very long, as she quickly turned her gaze downwards.

"I've told you before, Ruby, I'm just… not that good with people."

I give her an understanding look. "I know, but… if we went together then I could look out for you!" I say, cheerfully.

Weiss scrunches her eyebrows together and turns to look at me. "I don't need you to look out for me, I'm perfectly capable of handling myself."

I mentally kick myself, but I'm pretty sure I visibly cringe. I think Weiss notices it and she sighs, looking regretful.

"I'm sorry… I know you didn't mean it like that. " She said softly while giving me a warm smile. "I'll think about it."

I tilt my head to the side and grin back at her.

Weiss continued shuffling the forms on the table and making sure they were all in the right order. She went through each different form and made sure to stack it perfectly in place for the next student that happened to come by. Even though they probably wouldn't give a second thought to grabbing a piece of paper, Weiss made sure everything was precise and organized.

I realized that had always been something I admired about Weiss, her ability to make everything she does look presentable and proper.

I don't exactly know when I started looking up to Weiss, and why I can only wish to be the kind of person she is; maybe it was her ability to keep her cool in practically any situation, her indestructible resolve to find the right answer to a problem, or all the times I've seen her stand up during a meeting and immediately everyone goes quiet with respect. Maybe it was all the times we've walked home together, going for a joyride on my bike, or doing something incredibly mundane like talking about homework.

I look at Weiss out of the corner of my eye to watch her as she continues to shuffle through papers.

I watch as she gets an odd look on her face and stares at the table for a few seconds before she turns her head into the crook of her arm and lets out one of the most adorable, high pitched, sneezes I've ever heard.

I giggle and immediately try to smother it by turning my head to the opposite side.

Weiss wasn't fooled and sends a glare my way. This only makes me laugh harder and as I looked back over I see Weiss give a face of defeat, letting out a small chuckle of her own. She sits back in her chair and gives a thoughtful expression before turning to me.

"Ruby, I just want to let you know, I didn't mean anything I said earlier… I think you're a great help in the council."

I stop laughing so hard, but keep a goofy grin on my face.

"Don't worry, I know you didn't mean it. Even though you do so much more than me, Miss President." I wink at her. "I think _you're_ the one here who deserves all the praise!"

Weiss gives me a shy smile and I can see a light blush spreading across her face. She quickly turns her head away from me and coughs. My goofy grin gets bigger at the adorable gesture.

"Aww, you don't need to be so bashful, Weiss."

Weiss gives a hmph and rests her elbows on her knees, so she can use her hands to cover up her reddening cheeks.

"I'm _not_ being bashful."

 _She's so freakin cute, dammit!_

I couldn't help myself, I lean over to wrap my arms around her torso and nuzzle my head into her shoulder. I feel Weiss stiffen, and I look up to see her eyes were so wide they look like they were about to pop out of her head.

" _Ruby Rose_ , you will let me go of me _right now_."

I just squeezed her tighter and nuzzle my face closer into her shoulder, ignoring her trying to wriggle out of my grasp.

"I can't help it." I say as Weiss uses one of her hands to try and push my face off her shoulder. "You're just so damn _cute_ sometimes, Weiss."

Weiss continues to push my head further away, and with her other free hand she somehow manages to get a grasp on my shoulder and starts shoving it away as well. I just laugh as we play our weird game of tug of war, but this version having much more pushing.

As she manages to get my head far enough back that I can see her face, I notice there's still a very prominent blush on her cheeks and it makes me want to tackle her all over again. However, during our scuffle I was so busy laughing and listening to Weiss's annoyed attempts to get me to let her go, I almost fail to hear someone clearing their throat at the front of the table.

I immediately look up to see Mr. Ozpin, eyebrow raised in a questioning gesture. Weiss takes the opportunity and pushes me off completely before frantically smoothing out her jacket and skirt.

"Mr. Ozpin, it's a pleasure to see you at this event!"

Weiss stands up and shakes his hand. Ozpin chuckles and looks between the two of us.

"Likewise, Weiss. It's nice to see you two are getting along."

I look up and give him a meek smile. However, I can see Weiss's eye twitch at the comment, and I almost burst out laughing again.

"Yes, of course." She says.

Ozpin looks around at all the students on the ground drawing out their designs. Some were with groups of friends chalking up big pictures, while others were by themselves and drawing small, more modest designs.

I spot Yang's over at the water cooler, stacking waters in her hands while chatting with Blake. She must have gone over to help Blake at some point, with the sun beating down harder as it got later in the day there would definitely be more kids needing to stay hydrated.

"I must say, you two have done quite an impressive job."

"Thank you, Mr. Ozpin." I say. "But the other members helped a lot too."

Ozpin looks down at me and gives a smug smile. "I'm especially happy to see you pitching in, Ruby, it seems you've warmed up to your position quite a bit."

I give a nervous chuckle. "Heh, yeah it's not as bad as I thought it'd be."

For a split second I look at Weiss out of the corner of my eye, her posture was flawless and her hands clasped firmly, but comfortably in front of her. I quickly look back at Ozpin, hoping he didn't notice.

"Definitely not as bad."

Ozpin flashes a knowing smile. "Well, that's certainly good to hear. Enjoy your day ladies."

We both wave him off, and once he's far enough away to not hear us Weiss immediately turns to me and flicks my forehead, making me gasp in surprise.

" _That's_ for being an absolute dolt." She says with a scowl on her face that I just couldn't take seriously. "And don't ever touch me in public again."

I laughed and shrug at her, making sure to throw my hands out to the side as I did so. She just flicks my forehead again in disdain and gives a loud sigh before sitting back down.

* * *

The rest of the day had gone by pretty fast overall. The sun had been brutal though, and I don't think I've ever drank so much water in one day my entire life.

Once the sun was positioned directly above us in the sky, even Weiss had eventually given in and taken off her jacket due to the unbearable heat.

At one point, earlier on in the day, Jaune had tripped with a big box full of chalk in his hand, making it go everywhere and I'm not going to lie, I found it hysterical. The boy was such a mess that Pyrrah had to go over and help him put everything back in the box.

It almost made me feel better about his revealed feelings for Weiss, there was no way a boy that uncoordinated and dense could get through in any way to her. I also hadn't seen Neptune all day which was a _much_ welcomed bonus.

I had gotten so bored at one point that I started making paper airplanes out of the extra sign in papers and aiming them at Weiss, to see how long until she would notice.

Needless to say, the third one nailed her right in the eye and she immediately told me in a… less proper way, to _buzz off_.

However, the day had slowed down considerably after lunch had passed, Yang and Blake had taken bumblebee to pick up pizzas for the student council members and we had sat around in a big circle enjoying our meal.

Weiss hadn't seemed all too fond of the food at first, as I noticed her eyeing it strangely multiple times, but she had eaten it without too many complaints.

Around this time most students would be starting the last period of the day, in their nice air-conditioned classrooms. Outside however, almost all of the participants were done drawing their designs and either just lying around or chatting with friends, we did have the entire school day off after all.

That just about brings me to where I am now.

I lie down backwards on a cemented curb near the front of the school as I try to fan myself as best I can with my shirt collar. I have to shield my eyes from the sun as I lazily lift my head up to see Weiss, who was sitting upright next to me typing out some email on her phone.

Bored out of my mind, I just turn to watching the minute hand of the schools clock tower tick by painfully slow. Occasionally a car would drive by the front to pick up a student or walk into the office, kids were also walking by fairly frequently, either on their phones or talking with a friend.

I sit up and slide myself to the edge of the curb so that I'm sitting next to Weiss. She puts her phone down beside her and leans her head into her elbow to cough a few times. I grow concerned, as I'd heard her coughing earlier too, but at that time I thought it to be nothing more than Weiss being embarrassed.

"Are you okay? You don't feel sick, do you?" I ask, concern visible on my face.

Weiss gives me a glare out of the corner of her eye and then rolls her eyes at me.

"Of course I'm-" cough. "-fine."

I scoot closer so that we were about a foot apart and lean my head down to her level, to get a better look at her. That's when I notice how much paler her skin looked than usual, and the drop of sweat that was forming on her brow.

" _Weiss_." I say, with worry even more evident in my tone.

She just buries her head into her knees and starts shivering slightly making my eyes widen; there's no way someone can shiver when it's this hot outside. It's when I hear how ragged her breath sounds and how she starts rocking on the heels of her shoes that I realize what must be happening.

I quickly dart my head around to see if anyone was near us but, of course, there are people everywhere. On the bright side, no one seems to be paying much attention to us, and from far away Weiss's rocking probably wasn't so apparent. Not for long anyways.

I scooch close enough over to her that our shoulders are touching and casually lean down to whisper in her ear.

"Are you having an attack? What do you need me to do?"

Her head was buried in her knees and she wraps her arms even tighter around her legs. When she hears my voice I can see her grimace and grind her teeth together as she turns her head to the side to face me.

"M-my bag…"

I nod and turn my head around, about to get up, when I realize I have no idea where her bag is.

"Where is it, Weiss?"

Her eyes are still squeezed shut and I can tell her rocking was getting more feverish, yet not to noticeable. She keeps taking in ragged breaths that almost made it sound like she's in physical pain.

"T- table." she stammers out.

I give her a nod and squeeze her shoulders with one of my hands.

"I'll be right back Weiss. You're gonna be okay."

"Hurry…"

I bolt up, about to sprint over to the table, before I realize I didn't want to make it appear that something was wrong. I opt for a fast jog until I reach the sign-in table on the other side of the courtyard. I'm sure that up close I look like a sweaty, worrying, mess but there are more important matters to focus on at the moment.

As I get close to the table I spot the shiny white bag under the back of it. I practically dive for it before grabbing it by one of its straps, almost tripping myself as I turn back around.

I jog back over until I see Weiss hunched over the edge of the curb. She doesn't look to alarmingly out of the ordinary to someone who didn't know what was happening, but to me the sight made my heart ache for the poor girl.

To see Weiss looking so small and vulnerable just makes me want to be close to her, hug her, and tell her everything's going to be okay.

I quickly drop down next to her and put the bag onto the ground beside me. I slide close enough until our shoulders are touching, and lean protectively close to her as I hand her the backpack. Weiss shifts her gaze up to it but just grits her teeth together and focuses her eyes back into her knee embrace again.

I feel a surge of unexpected anger rush through me as I rip the bag open and dig through it myself. When I find the bottle I'm looking for, I keep my hands inside the bag and unscrew the lid as I take a pill out.

"Weiss, you need to take this."

Weiss just continued to subtly rock herself and turns her face away from me. It seems like she doesn't want to take it, and I don't want to force her, but when someone walks by and I feel her noticeably stiffen, while also letting out a small whimper, I don't know what else to do.

I grab one of her hands that was wrapped around her legs and quickly shove the pill into it.

Weiss lifts her head up enough, so that it isn't resting on her knees, and looks at the small capsule.

I see the way she eyes it - looking at it as though it was some sort of poison.

I gently reach around and grab the back of her hand with my own, bringing it up to her mouth. She seems to stop resisting and I see a drop of sweat fall off her forehead as she covertly puts her hand to her mouth, and swallows the pill.

Nothing seems to happen immediately. If I think back to the other time this happened, almost a month ago, I remember it being a few minutes before it seemed to take its effect. I end up just sitting there, hopefully comforting Weiss, until she seemed to stop rocking so much and color starts returning to her face.

Eventually, I see her head look fully up and her posture return to normal. I give an audible sigh of relief and run a hand through my hair, pushing it out of my face.

Weiss looks over at me and we lock eyes. I can see her blue irises showing an unreadable intensity. This only lasts a few seconds, however, until she gives a huff of air and turns her head so that she's facing forward.

"I would say that I hate this, but I'm pretty sure you know that already." She says.

I nod my head but give her a concerned look.

"I'm just glad you're okay, and that no one was able to figure out what was happening, but Weiss," I wait until she turns towards me. "you need to tell me if you feel something like that is gonna happen."

Weiss stays silent for a moment, and for a second it looks like she's about to cry, but just as soon as the expression appeared, it's replaced with a bitter frown.

"Relying on that _damn_ medicine is even worse compared to actually having an attack sometimes."

I hardly hear Weiss swear, which is how you know she's just plain pissed at that point.

"But you get through it." I say, trying to plead her into calming down. "I'll help you get through it."

Weiss slams one of her balled up fists into the cement, and I quickly look around to see if the action had called anybody's attention. Thankfully, it looks like we're in the clear. As I turn back to gape at her she's already looking over at me with a scowl on her face.

"You don't _get it_ , Ruby. Knowing that at _any_ moment during the day I might have to leave a room, or run back home to take some _worthless_ pill to calm myself down makes me feel so trapped. I can't help thinking if this hindrance will last the rest of my life."

I dejectedly hold her gaze, but can't bring myself to say anything. Giving a sigh, Weiss looks back towards the clock tower to read the time.

"We should go and start helping clean up. Come on, Ruby."

Weiss grabs her backpack, and much forgotten phone that was sitting on the ground next to her, and stands up. She smooths out her skirt, making sure to get all the creases out from curling up on herself earlier, and starts walking away.

I watch her as she goes and I can't help but feeling a mixture of anger and sadness wash over me.

Weiss didn't deserve this, hell, no one does, but that doesn't make it any more fair.

Thinking that Weiss might have to deal with this for the rest of her life, makes my stomach clench with sorrow for her. I want to help her, but she clearly stated that I don't understand - which isn't exactly wrong - but I want to try.

I made her a promise after all.


	7. Confrontations

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 7: Confrontations**

It's the Monday after the chalk-walk, and no matter how much I appreciated being able to skip an entire day of classes for the event, I don't think I had appreciated it enough.

I'm in my last period of the day - science. Normally, I actually quite like the subject, but today is different.

Today is presentation day.

Yep, the day that most kids would rather beat themselves over the head with a dead fish than stand up and talk about some scientist who discovered micro-organisms or the theory of relativity.

Most students fidget nervously at their desks or are sliding down into their seats in the hopes of not being the one called on next.

However, I'm not worried at all. I find this class to be particularly easy, and have already given my presentation early on last week.

I sit back and absentmindedly fiddle with the cuffs of my uniform jacket, only halfway paying attention to the presentations as they were being given.

I slowly scraped my sneakers back and forth across the floor and fixed my gaze on an empty seat a few rows over. That's normally where Weiss sits, but today she isn't here, which is odd because Weiss is _always_ here.

When I first walked into class is when I noticed the empty desk. Personally, I've never seen Weiss miss a day of school, so the sight was a bit concerning. I had texted her earlier about her absence but she hasn't responded yet, which only makes me worry more.

After what happened on the day of the chalk-walk, I wouldn't be surprised if she had another panic attack completely out of the blue like that. The thought of that happening makes my breath hitch and my stomach clench up tightly.

I let out a low sigh and lean my elbows onto the table to rest my chin in my hands.

At this point, I'm tuned out from the presentations entirely and I can feel my eyelids starting to drooping as I start drifting off. I'm not sure how long it is that I take my little nap, but I get a pretty rude awakening.

Someone walks by my desk and kicks the edge of one of its legs, making my desk shake and my head drop off my hands. I swear, if they had used even the tiniest amount more of force, I would have banged my forehead against the table.

As I'm ineloquently jolted awake, I look up to see who the perpetrator is. Cardin Winchester. Your classic, high school asshat who practically gets off on being a dirt bag to everyone.

He continues to walk past me, and I see a smirk on his face while hearing a few of his friends, who sit a few rows behind me, chuckle. I just ignore them and roll my eyes. I might have some choice words for him, but I've learned it's generally better to not add more fuel to the fire.

Cardin reaches the front and slips his flash drive into the computer that the class is using for presentations. A folder pops up and he clicks a PowerPoint file that has a ton of random numbers and letters for a name. When he opens it up, there's a big picture of Isaac Newton and the title _'Laws of Gravitation'_

He then proceeds to give a fairly decent presentation, but I find it laughable at how many spelling and contingency errors he'd made. After he finishes, most of the class claps politely, while some of the other students continue to stare at the floor or squirm in their desks.

I just continue to look irked, and mumble some of those 'choice words' I'd thought of earlier under my breath.

"What was that, Miss Rose?"

I jolt in my seat and whip my head to the front of the room where my science teacher, Mr. Oobleck, sits with a questioning eyebrow raised at me. Cardin looks over at me too, narrowing his eyes and looking miffed. I cast my gaze down and shrug to no one in particular.

"Nothing, sir…"

Mr. Oobleck takes a sip of his coffee and gave me a skeptical look.

"Please, Ruby. I'm sure a fellow student would love to hear some friendly criticism, especially from one of my best and most gifted students in the subject."

I shift my gaze back up and look between the two of them.

I'm mostly reluctant because, by the look Cardin's giving me right now, if I say something he doesn't like, I might be paying for it later. Not that I'm particularly scared of him, but he's known to use some… _questionable_ tactics to get back at people. Oobleck just looks on at me with anticipation.

"Well…" I gulp, watching a few of the other students turn towards me. "you said Newton was born on January fourth, but if you look at the old Julien calendar that was used in England during the sixteen-hundreds, he was actually born..." I take a moment to calculate the numbers in my head. "Around December twenty-fifth."

I see Cardin's face scrunch up. Oobleck just nods, urging me to continue.

"Newton theorized white light was made of all colors of the spectrum, and that light was composed of particles. You said he theorized it was atoms, which isn't technically true. There's also plenty more uses for the laws he made than what you mentioned, like being able to predict where comets will land, the tides, and precession of the equinoxes."

I hear a few people chuckle as Oobleck raises his eyebrows towards Cardin, who I can see clenching his fists and giving me a death glare.

"Also, Cambridge," I say, pointing up to the projected PowerPoint. "is spelled with a _d_."

I can see Cardin bubbling in anger mixed with embarrassment. I give him a smug look and smirk at him. To be honest, it's pretty funny seeing him peeved off and storm back to his seat like he does; I rarely get to use my geekiness for something so satisfying.

Of course, my victory is short lived as the bell rings, signaling school's over for the day. People start chattering and packing up, most looking relieved they didn't have to present today.

Mr. Oobleck eyes the clock suspiciously, like he didn't believe the bell had just rung.

"Well, we'll have to finish presentations tomorrow! Thank you for your insight, Ruby. I'm sure we'll all be _a lot_ more aware of watching out for those pesky little details in our work from now on. Have a good day everyone!"

I start packing up and watch Cardin yank out his flash drive from the port. He gruffly walks past my desk while mumbling something lowly, so that only I could hear.

"Watch yourself, Red."

I roll my eyes and stand up next to my desk, so I can put my things away. From what I've heard about Cardin, he's mostly all talk and no bite, but that doesn't stop people from trying their best to steer clear of him.

I take my phone out of my back pocket to check if Weiss has texted me back. She hasn't. I sigh, slipping my backpack onto my shoulders and starting to walk out of class.

Since it's Monday, we have a student council meeting. I'm not sure what happens when Weiss isn't here to run it, since that hasn't happened since I joined, but I'm hoping it'll be pretty laid back.

Just as I'm about to walk out the door, I hear someone call to me.

"Ah, Miss Rose, may I have a word with you before you go?"

I stop and turned around, causing some of the other students shuffling out to run into me.

I see Mr. Oobleck waving me over to his desk, while he takes another long, slow sip of hot coffee.

I know this would probably be about what happened earlier. I debate whether or not I should ignore him and follow the rest of the students out the door, but ultimately decide against it; instead, I choose to make an excuse.

"Actually, I have a meeting I need to go to. I can't be late so…"

I turn back around and try to slip out the door before he has time to respond, but I'm too late.

"Please, Ruby. This will only take a moment, I know you're very busy." He pleads.

I exhale a slow, defeated breath and plod over to his desk, avoiding the few remaining students making their way out.

"Yes, Mr. Oobleck?"

He grabs around his coffee mug and gave me a welcoming smile.

"A council meeting to get to, hmm? How is the council nowadays? I've heard you have been doing quite well."

I nod and give a proud grin.

"Yeah, it's been good, just busy."

"I've also heard that the first event you ran this year went quite well too."

"Yep, we raised a ton of money for the school, and we had the most participants out of any of the previous years."

Oobleck picks up his mug and takes another long sip of coffee. I scuff one of my shoes across the floor and look at the clock on the wall. It wouldn't actually be _that_ bad to be late today, since Weiss isn't here to yell at me. Even so, I still want to get out of here as fast as possible.

"Was there something you needed?" I ask.

Mr. Oobleck's eyes widen and he sets down his mug on the table, then proceeding to start digging through his desk.

"Yes, my apologies… hmm, where is it?" He continued to dig through his desk drawers until he finds what he's looking for.

"Aha!"

He pulls out a yellow sheet of paper and handed it to me. It reads: _'USA Science and Engineering Festival!'._

I blink and tilt my head to the side questioningly before looking back up at my teacher.

"Ruby, you are one of my brightest students and I think it's clear that you enjoy the subject a great deal." I shrug, but Oobleck continues talking. "This festival is held fairly close to our town, but is too expensive for the school to pay for a yearly fieldtrip. So, each year I take a select group of students from my classes to go and experience the magic of science!"

He fixes his glasses on the bridge of his nose and rests his chin on his hands.

"I think you should really consider going. It's a great experience to learn about the different fields you can go into surrounding the subject, and I can really see you taking up a future in it."

I stare at the paper in my hands. I've never really thought about what I want to do in the future, and definitely not in something related to science. However, I _am_ a senior, and that means I'll be going to college at the end of this year. So, maybe it isn't such a bad idea to go and see if something like this interests me.

"I guess I'll think about it." I say.

Mr. Oobleck gives me an approving nod, and sits up straighter in his chair.

"Now, this festival is a while off from now, but I want you to know that I think it would be splendid if you decide to come."

"I'll make sure to give it a lot of thought then. Thanks, Mr. Oobleck."

I gently fold the paper and slip it in my pocket. I start walking out, but when I grab the door I hear him call out to me.

"Please remember, Ruby." He gives me a knowing look. "Science is nothing more than trained and organized common sense. I trust that you have some."

* * *

I walk down the empty hallways of the school towards the student resource room. My little encounter in Oobleck's room had lasted about ten minutes, so there's no doubt I'm going to be late now.

I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone to check my messages: still no Weiss.

I groan and click on the little icon by her name. I don't have any pictures of Weiss, but I found a stock image of a little snowman and had put that as her picture. I would change it, but when I had shown it to Weiss she said it looked cute, so I opted to keep it instead.

I remember how cold and unapproachable I used to think she was, how out of my reach she seemed without me even realizing it. Now, I can't imagine her as anything other than dignified and elegant at everything she does, but with a shy and demure side as well.

I wish she would show the latter more often, but sometimes… I'm kind of glad she doesn't show that side of hers to everyone. It's something only I get to see; that humble, yet hesitant, smile that could turn me into a bumbling mess in the blink of an eye.

Just thinking about it makes me cover my face with my hands out of embarrassment and slam my head onto a nearby locker.

 _What the hell's wrong with me?_

"Hey there, Little Red."

I freeze and slowly lift my gaze up from the locker to see none other than Cardin, giving me a smug look, and three of his lackeys standing behind him. I look them up and down and give them an annoyed huff.

"What do you want, Cardin?"

He takes a step towards me and crosses his arms.

"Y'know, I never really thought the nerdy ones would be my problem, seeing that they know they wouldn't stand a chance against me." He _tsks_ at me with his tongue, and I feel myself stiffen. "Turns out I was wrong."

I look between the four boys, trying to get a read on whether or not I think they would actually do anything. I'm not quite sure, but if I keep them engaged long enough, maybe someone will come by eventually, forcing them to back off.

I look both ways down the double ended hallway and see no one, so I take a deep breath and stand straight up, staring Cardin right in the eyes.

"I'm surprised you put two and two together like that. Your brain must be feeling good as new, seeing that you never use it."

Cardin and a few of his other lackeys roll their eyes. Cardin steps towards me until we're a few feet apart and because of our height difference of about a foot, I'm forced to look up at him.

"Well aren't you just the cutest little _shit_."

I raise an eyebrow at him, trying to swallow a lump forming in my throat.

"Keep rolling your eyes, maybe you'll actually find a brain back there." I say.

I hear Cardin make a growling noise as he lunges at me, grabbing the strap of my backpack.

"Oh, I am _so_ gonna end you," He pulls my bag's strap to get up in my face, forcing me to stand on my tiptoes. "that is, if _you_ weren't going to already."

I hear a few of his useless friends laugh and I feel disgusted, but hold my ground.

"If I wanted to kill myself I'd climb your stupidly huge ego and jump your IQ."

He grits his teeth together in frustration, seeing as his words aren't getting to me, and grabs the other side of my bag to push me forcefully against the lockers, almost reminding me of some of the cheesy high school dramas Yang watches.

My head gets slammed against the cold metal and I try to ignore the sharp pain, but I'm pretty sure it's showing on my face.

"It's not really my thing to beat up scraggly kids like you, let alone a girl, but if you keep that up, I might just make an exception."

I take advantage of the position and head-butt him with as much force as I can muster. This makes his buddies gasp and causes Cardin to stagger back a few feet. He rubs his temple and I rub mine too, knowing I'll have a lasting headache for a few days.

"Y'know Cardin, two wrongs like that don't make a right. Take your parents for example."

While Cardin seethes and continues to hold his forehead, I take the opening to look around the hall. I still don't see any teachers or students and I silently hope that someone will walk by soon. I can't keep up the smart-ass comebacks for too much longer.

Cardin takes his hand off his forehead and turns his head to the side, making his neck give a menacing crack.

"You don't know _jack-shit_ about me, short stack."

"Who says I'd want to?"

He starts rolling his eyes and then stops himself midway, probably remembering my earlier comment.

"Well, maybe if you saw things from _my_ perspective, you would give a little more thought into what you're saying to me right now." He growls.

I scoff at him and shake my head.

"Yeah, I'd just _love_ to see things from your point of view, to bad I can't seem to get my head that far up my ass."

I'm pretty sure that was the last straw for him. He motions at two of his buddies and they both walk around from behind him to stand next to him. I would've laughed at the cliché gesture, but in reality, I know how bad this might get.

Cardin walks towards me and grabs the front of my shirt again, slamming me back against the set of lockers.

"You think you're such _hot shit_ , don't you?" he tightens his grip on the collar of my shirt, and pulled me closer to him - only to slam me right back against the lockers. I wince at the splitting headache I'm getting from being jostled around.

"You're a _nobody_. Some teacher's pet who doesn't know when to _shut the hell up_." He slams me against the locker again. "You're just some insignificant, miserable, kiss-up that wants to make _me_ look bad, _me!_ "

His friends laugh at this, way too hard in my opinion, and with the boost of confidence it gives him, Cardin leans down until he's right in my face.

"Got any last words, Red?"

I hold Cardin's gaze and squint my eyes at him.

"It must be difficult for you, exhausting your entire vocabulary in one sentence like that."

Cardin reels his arm back, like he's about to deck me, making me scrunch my face up, preparing for the impact.

But the hit doesn't come.

Instead, I see Cardin look up and turn his head to the side. For a second I'm confused, until I hear the faint sound of clacking down the hallway.

 _Someone's coming, thank god._

I hear Cardin curse under his breath and he drops his fist at his side. He makes an irritated grunt, and lets go of the front of my shirt. I give a sigh of relief and grab the collar of my shirt to smooth it out. All the clenching Cardin had done to it left a lot of wrinkles.

"You might've gotten lucky this time, but don't expect me to go easy on you in the future." Cardin says as he and his friends walk away.

The footsteps rounded the corner on the side of the hallway closest to me, just as Cardin and his crew disappear around the other end. It's a woman, who I recognize to also be the vice principal, Ms. Goodwitch. She gives me an up and down look as she walks closer and stops in front of me.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you how to do laundry?" She says, eyeing my messed up uniform.

I turn red and look at the ground, mumbling something hopefully coherent to an apology. Ms. Goodwitch just gives me a displeased look before continuing to make her way down the hall.

I take a moment and lean back against the set of lockers that I know all too well at this point, feeling mentally exhausted.

People like Cardin are just small and insecure and will do whatever it takes to make themselves seem big. I honestly just feel sorry for him - not that I'm any less pissed at him either - but sorry all the same.

I take a deep breath to calm myself down and turn my head to the side, which is when I see the clock on the other side of the hallway. Now I'm over thirty minutes late.

"Crap…"

* * *

I reach the student resource room and start to slowly turn the handle on the door. Of course, Weiss isn't going to be here, but I'm still late and I know she'll somehow figure that out, even when she's not present, and probably berate me about it later.

I open the door to see the rest of the council, of course, already here.

I expected Blake, or even Pyrrha, to have taken charge and gotten people to work, but that didn't seem to be the case. The members are all sitting at our big meeting table in the center of the room, mostly talking amongst themselves or playing on their phones; all except Blake, who's silently reading a book laid out on the table in front of her.

Yang turns around from where she's sitting and gives me a wave.

"Someone sure knows when to make an entrance. Where've you been, sis?"

I walk over to my seat and debate on telling them what had happened with Cardin. I figure it will only cause Yang to get angry, along with everyone else, so I decide I'll just keep it to myself for now.

"Oobleck wanted to keep me after class, sorry guys."

A half-truth is better than no truth I guess.

"You're just lucky the president isn't here," Nora says, looking up from her phone. "she would've spent the rest of the meeting yelling at you"

I nod knowingly and take my seat at the head of the table, setting my backpack down next to me.

"Where is Weiss by the way? I haven't heard from her all day." I ask.

Jaune, who's been talking with Pyrrha and Ren, looks up and shakes his head at me.

"I haven't heard from her either, none of us have."

The thought of Jaune trying to get in touch with Weiss irks me, but I shove the thought away and dig into my pocket to find my phone. I check my messages - still nothing.

I groan and drop my head onto the table.

"She's probably just sick or something." Blake says, without even looking up from her book.

"Yeah, She'll be fine! Cheer up, Ruby." Yang tries to give me a comforting smile, but it looks more like a grimace.

Nora looks up from her phone and her eyes widen.

"It wouldn't be fine if she missed my bonfire this weekend! Please tell me at least you're coming, Ruby!?"

I vaguely remember Velvet mentioning something about Nora throwing a party this weekend during the chalk-walk, but I'd almost completely forgotten about it. I don't know how I'd forgotten either, seeing as Weiss said she might go with me.

"Oh, uh… I was thinking about it."

Yang fist bumps the air, stands up in her chair, and slams one of her boots down on the table.

"Hell yeah, this bonfires gonna be lit!"

Pyrrha turns her head and gives a thoughtful look.

"I would sure hope the bonfires lit."

I hear Blake give a sigh as she uses one of her index fingers to turn a page in her book.

"Ruby, since you're the vice president why don't you grab Weiss's binder and see if there's anything we need to do."

I know that Weiss usually reads out of her council binder when figuring out what our plans are for the day, but I have no idea where she keeps it. I've always thought she just carried it around with her.

"Do you know where it is…?" I ask.

Blake, still not looking up from her book, points over to one of the many bookshelves on the far side of the room. I walk over and, after shuffling through books for a few minutes, find the white binder on one of the bottom shelves, it says: _'Property of Weiss Schnee, DO NOT TOUCH'_ in big, red letters.

I gulp, but pick it up and bring it back over to the head of the table anyways. It's my duty as vice president to take over for her when she isn't here; I've just never had to do it before. So, she won't get mad… right?

 _Well, what she doesn't know won't hurt her._

Everyone quiets down and turns their attention towards me. I give a nervous smile as I open the binder. It has pages full of dates and events, along with folders dedicated to different clubs and sponsors that our school has. It seems to be in a very particular order, but I can't quite find anything that is specific to today or any random work we could do.

Blake places a bookmark on the page she's reading and looks over at me.

"Look for today's date, on one of the tabs."

I look at where she tells me too and turn to what I think is the correct page, but it's blank. I feel myself start sweating, and look up at everyone patiently waiting on what I'm going to say. I don't like having so many eyes on me, even if they are people I consider to be friends; I don't know how Weiss deals with this all the time.

"I… uhmm…"

I look back up at all their expectant faces and feel myself start turning red. Thankfully, Ren makes a suggestion that saves me from the embarrassment.

"Why don't you go try calling Weiss? See if she knows what to do?"

I give him a grateful nod and step out into the hallway as fast as I can. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I reluctantly click on that cute little snowman icon, already fully expecting her not to pick up.

The phone rings for about twenty seconds until it went to voicemail. I decide I'll try one more time and if she doesn't pick up, then I'll just go back inside and cancel the meeting for today.

To my surprise, on the second ring, someone picks up.

"… _Hello?"_

I feel my eyes bulge out of shock and I almost gasp out loud.

"Weiss!?"

"… _Yes?"_

"Oh my god, Weiss!? Are you okay? You haven't answered me all day!?"

I hear some shuffling noises in the background and Weiss makes a groaning sound.

" _I was… sleeping."_

"...You were sleeping?"

" _Yeah, I have a little cold is all-"_

Just then, Weiss erupts into a loud coughing and hacking fit. My concern for her reached its limit and I press the phone closer to my ear.

"Don't worry, Weiss. I'm coming over right now!"

The coughing on the other end immediately starts slowing down and I hear Weiss rasp into the receiver.

" _Wait, Ruby wha-"_

I didn't give her a chance to answer. Instead, I shove my phone back into my pocket and burst back into the student council room. Everyone's heads fling my direction in surprise as I run over to get my backpack.

"Meetings cancelled! I gotta go, bye!"

I slip my bag on as I run as fast as I can back out of the clubroom, leaving stupefied council members in my wake. I run down the seemingly endless hallways and forcefully shove my way out the front doors of the school, heading for the bike rack.


	8. Under the Weather

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 8: Under the Weather**

I reach the bike rack and yank my bike out of the large metal rings it was comfortably nestled between.

Jumping onto the back, I start pedaling towards the school's front exit. I have to weave my way around a few of the straggling students that are exiting the school, who are most likely just finishing with their own clubs, but I mange easily enough.

As soon as I pass the front gate I start booking it in the direction towards Weiss's house. I look up at the sky and see a few dark clouds invading the blue space above, turning the air around me grey and dusky.

I feel my pulse pumping rapidly, yet steadily, as I pump my legs up and down on my pedals. The only thing I'm able to hear is the wind and the familiar creaking in the chain of my bike as I switch the gears to accommodate my already tiring limbs. I don't want to tire myself completely before I can even make it there.

While I continue to pedal, I realize that Weiss might not have anyone at her house to take care of her. A wave of recognition runs through me, and I decide to take a quick detour to get Weiss some things she might need.

I continue down the path to Weiss's house for a few more minutes until I see the familiar luminescent glow of a convenience store. I slowly bring my bike to a comfortable pace and look both ways to make sure the coast is clear before swerving onto the road and over to the store.

Once inside, I scramble about to grab a few items I think Weiss might need and head over to the cash register.

There's a middle-aged man working the checkout who gives me a weird look as he rings up the items. I can see why he'd stare, since I probably look like I might implode at any second based on how much I'm fidgeting and struggling to keep still.

"Be careful out in this weather, kid. According to the news it's going to be raining cats and dogs out there pretty soon." The man says, handing me back my change.

I nod my head and grab the bag of items off the counter.

"Will do, sir!"

After that exchange, I put the plastic bag on one of my handlebars as I ride the rest of the way to Weiss's house.

When I lean my bike up against the front gate I realize I'd forgotten how massive her house actually was. The white pillars and intricate railings everywhere were blindingly clean and shiny; especially in contrast with the overcast that was darkening the sky by the minute.

The huge front gate, with a very detailed and elegant _'S'_ on the front of it, is wide open. I figure maybe Weiss left it open for me, so I grab the plastic bag off my bike handle and walk right on past it.

There's a huge fountain past the gate that I have to walk around to reach the front door. I remember it from the last time I was here, but it was flowing then, making the house look welcoming. Now, however, it isn't flowing and in comparison makes the enormous house look desolate.

As I walk up the front steps I feel a drop of rain fall onto my nose, I wipe it off with one of my hands as I finish my short climb. I remember Weiss had used a key under one of the various potted plants to open her door. I momentarily think about using it, since I'm pretty sure she knows I'm coming over anyways, but decide it might be better if I knock.

I wait for a few seconds and don't hear anything, so I knock a few more times. After waiting another thirty or so seconds I put my ear up to the door, but I still didn't hear any noise.

I shift the plastic bag in my hand and ring the doorbell. It isn't too much longer before I think I might hear some shuffling, so I continue to ring the doorbell until I hear Weiss's voice snap at me from inside.

"I'm coming you dolt. Stop breaking my eardrums."

I smile and eagerly step back from the door as I hear a few locks being undone.

The door opens to reveal a slightly disheveled, and groggy looking Weiss. She's wearing a pair of modest blue shorts and a button up, white-blue checkered sleeping shirt with long sleeves.

Her face looks paler than usual, which brought out the scar that ran down the center of her eye even more. She has her hair down instead of in its usual ponytail and bits and pieces of it stuck up in odd places.

"Weiss!" I say, giving her a small wave.

She looks at me with an annoyed expression and leans her shoulder against the door frame.

"Ruby, why are you here?"

I try to hide my look of disappointment at the realization she doesn't seem to want me here, instead covering it up with the most persuasive puppy dog eyes I can muster.

"You said you were sick. I even got you some stuff!"

I shove the plastic bag in my hand forward and Weiss eyes it warily.

"Like I _tried_ telling you over the phone - I'm fine. I just need some rest."

Weiss sees the expression I'm making and looks guiltily to the floor, suddenly taking an interest in her polka-dot socks.

"Look, It's just a cold-" cough."-it'll go away in a few days." Weiss rasps out the last part of her sentence.

My puppy dog look turns into more of a pout.

"C'mon, Weiss. I'll be in and out before you know it!"

Just then, a bright bolt of lightning shoots across the sky and our ears are simultaneously met with the loud clapping of thunder that followed it. We both flinch at the noise.

Weiss forms a disgruntled look on her face as she looks between me and the area of her front yard behind me, where there's now a steady drizzle of rain coming down.

"Fine." She says, stepping aside to let me though the door.

I gladly accept her invitation and slip my way passed her, right into the grand foyer.

Weiss sighs and shuts the door behind me.

"Just so you know, you're the only dunce dumb enough to ride a bike out in this weather."

I just grin at her and lean back and forth on the balls of my feet. Weiss puts a hand to her temple and, despite everything, gives me an amused look.

"All right, I'll play along. What's in the bag?"

A look of recognition crosses my face as I remember I had gotten Weiss something.

"Oh, yeah!" I say, handing the plastic bag to Weiss. "Look for yourself."

Weiss looks around the room and then motions for me to follow her, so I do.

We walk down the long foyer with the grandiose, wooden staircase at the end and back into the living room that I had been in the last time I was here.

Everything in the room still looked perfectly dusted and orderly - like it had been cleaned - but not used in a fair amount of time. There is still a flat screen on the wall and a fireplace made of grey stones that probably costs more than my house's entire living room and everything in it.

The only thing that stands out from the sleek and modern design of the room was an old, dejected looking record player that's shoved into the corner.

There is also a big window that looks out into a cutesy side garden on the far end of the room. The rain was really coming down now and I start worrying slightly about my bike being left in this weather.

Weiss walks over to a coffee table by the comfy looking sofa and sets the bag down on it. She lets out a yawn and sits down in front of the small table.

"Do you like to sleep when you're sick?" I ask, adjusting the collar of my uniform, while setting my backpack down near the couch and plopping myself down next to her.

She gives me a strange look out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't all people rest when they're sick?"

I shrug.

"Dunno, I never really get sick that much."

Weiss grabs the bag on the table and pulls it towards her. She flips the little plastic handles at the top away from her and opens the bag with both her hands. A blank look comes across her face.

"Ruby… what is this?"

She turns the bag over so the contents go spilling out on the table. She picks up one of the comics I had bought and a small carton of milk the size of a juice box.

I smile at her and give her an expectant look.

"Isn't it great!?" I say, picking up an extra milk carton I'd bought for me. "I know I said that I don't get sick all that much, but this is always the stuff my dad would get me if I wasn't feeling well."

Weiss looks over at me with a conflicted expression. She was either on the verge of yelling or laughing at me, and even though I would prefer the latter - it doesn't seem likely to happen.

However, I keep looking at her in earnest, secretly hoping she might praise me. I see Weiss internally struggling while looking at the items, before her gaze softens and she gives another one of those rare smiles that makes my heart stop.

"This is really… thoughtful. Thank you."

My eyes widen and I felt my own smile grow toothier.

"daww, it was nothing." I say, trying to sound modest and scratching the back of my head.

I hear Weiss let out a soft giggle as she sets the carton back down on the table near the stack of comics I had also bought.

"Though, judging by this little stunt, I think it's quite obvious you don't get sick very much."

She lets out another small laugh that turns into a fit of coughs and I put a hand on her back to help steady her. As soon as it's over, she turns my direction and moves to pluck the milk carton out of my hand that isn't still on her back.

I make a sound of protest and move both my arms to reach for the carton as she holds it away from me. She tries putting a hand on my forehead in a fruitless attempt to keep me out of her personal space.

"How about instead of drinking this," She says, setting the milk down on the corner of the table farthest from me. "I make us some hot cocoa?"

I move away and pout, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Fine…"

Weiss makes a move to get up.

"But I get to make it!" I hurriedly say.

I put a hand on her shoulder to push her back onto the couch as I stand up and walk over to the archway at the other end of the room that, presumably, leads to the kitchen. You never really know in a huge place like this, but I remember her going in here to get us snacks from the last time I was over.

I can tell Weiss is about to stand up again, either to help me or to do it herself. I motion for her to stop and shake my head.

"You're sick, Weiss. Sick people need to rest - you said so yourself. So _please_ let me make it."

I shoot her another one of my puppy dog looks and she almost immediately gives a sigh of defeat and gruffly sits herself back down.

"The cocoa's in the top cabinet on the left. Just… try not to burn my house down."

I give a triumphant nod and make my way through the corridor and into the kitchen.

* * *

Weiss and I sit around the coffee table in her living room, chatting and listening to the rain drum onto the windows like a steady beat underlining our conversation.

While I had been making the cocoa, Weiss had put a record on the sullen machine that I had thought to be abandoned in the corner. The mix between the classic songs, none of which I had ever heard of, and the rain made for a comfortable ambiance.

We sip from our cups of delicious hot cocoa, which I have to admit _might_ have been a better idea than milk. Not that I would ever admit it to Weiss.

The mug I'm using has little flowers that are sprinkled around it in an intricate and very pretty pattern. They're white, with slightly darker colored buds at their centers, and four leaves that followed around each one of their bases.

Weiss noticed me staring at my cup.

"It's a Gardenia flower." She said, before taking a sip out of her own cup. "Quite charming designs aren't they?"

"Yeah, what about yours?"

I motion to the cup Weiss is drinking out of. Hers has brighter red flowers that flow across the bottom of the cup, as if they would catch it if it were to fall.

"Hmm..." Weiss grumbles pulling the mug away from her face. "I'm not sure I remember…Aster, no… Amer… Amaryllis! That's it, Amaryllis."

I nod my head, showing both my understanding and approval.

"They're really pretty…"

Weiss gave me a humble smile, and brushes some bangs that had fallen into her eyes out of her face before bringing the mug back up to her mouth to take another sip.

… _Just like you_.

I let the words go unsaid.

I lean my back against the couch and let out a long sigh as I felt the fluffy fabric on my back. I sway my head along with the soft music the record player was providing and the drum of the rain still caressing the window.

Weiss let out another fit of coughs and has to set her cup down to cover her mouth. A look of concern crosses over my face.

"You think maybe you got sick because of the chalk-walk?"

"How else would I contract such a cough than from being around unkempt and overheated high school students all day?"

"You do have a point…"

Weiss turns her head to look at the clock on the wall behind me.

"Weren't we supposed to have a meeting today?"

I feel my posture straighten from the lax position I'm in, as it often does when I know Weiss is about to call me out on something.

I shrug and avoid making eye contact with Weiss for as long as I can until she clears her throat, forcing my attention to her - and right into her death glare.

"What!? I don't know! You weren't answering my texts! How was I supposed to know what to do!?"

"You're the vice president, Ruby. I've told you what to do in a case of my absence - that being to run the meeting."

"But you didn't have anything planned!"

"I've told you, if that's the case you ask Ms. Goodwitch."

"Well, how was I supposed to remember that? You told me that, like, months ago!"

Weiss sighs and puts a hand to her temple.

"So, you called me and as soon as I told you I was sick you just… left?"

I felt color burn through my cheeks and I avert my gaze back down to the flowery mug in my hands.

"I thought you might need some help, so I came here as fast I could."

Weiss just shakes her head in incredulity and takes a long sip from her mug.

"Dunce. Is that why your uniform looks like it was trampled by a heard of elephants?"

I look down at my white collared shirt, along with my jacket and plaid pants. She isn't wrong.

My shirt does look as though I picked it out of the bottom of my laundry basket or off the floor of my bathroom - but in reality it's from Cardin holding my against the lockers earlier today. I don't really want to bring that situation up, especially with Weiss, so I choose to leave it.

"Heh, yeah I guess so. Sorry, I didn't realize."

I smooth out my uniform a bit. I feel uncomfortable semi-lying to Weiss, so I try to come up with a topic to change the conversation.

"So, uhm, have you given any more thought as to going to Nora's party this weekend?"

Weiss looks thoughtful for a moment.

"If I'm feeling any better by Saturday then I might."

I tried not to let my eagerness show; trying to 'play it cool' as Yang would say.

"Ah cool, cool." I bit my lip and put on my best disinterested expression. "Do you still wanna, uhm, go… together… maybe?"

"I don't see why not."

I mentally fist pump the air and feel my stomach fill with butterflies over the anticipation.

I take a long sip of the last of my hot cocoa, trying to distract myself before I say something stupid. I set the empty mug back onto the table and wipe my chocolatey mouth with my jacket sleeve.

I look up to see Weiss's head slightly swaying to the beat of the record playing in the background. The song that's playing was very smooth and jazzy, and like all of the other songs on the disc, I've never heard it before.

Watching Weiss's slight movements as she slowly bobs her head up and down to the beat makes a ghost of a smile appear on my face.

"Do you like music?" I ask.

Weiss looks up at me, while continuing to gently sway her head.

"Yes, though it's not something I tell a lot of people."

"I remember you mentioning it a while back. Something about singing for your father's banquet?"

As soon as the words left my mouth I regret it, remembering it's partially the cause of when I found Weiss huddled in the corner of a bathroom a few months back. I think Weiss sees the mortified look in my eyes because she softens her gaze and shakes her head at me.

"You're fine, Ruby. I'm quite complacent talking about it with you. I'm pretty good at singing, and I enjoy it a fair amount as well. My father likes me to perform at some of his banquets to promote the family name and the company."

A surge of pride runs through me knowing that Weiss was so comfortable talking to me.

"Do you want to be a singer when you're older?" I ask.

Weiss scoffs at this.

"Don't be absurd. I'm the heiress to Schnee Bank, of course _that_ will be my profession when I'm older. It's part of the reason why I joined the council: to teach myself some discipline."

I think Weiss would be plenty disciplined even without being a part of the council. She just seems to be a responsible person in general.

"I thought it was because of your sister?"

Weiss nods her head thoughtfully.

"That too."

I bring the floral mug up to my lips and down the rest of my delicious chocolatey drink. The flow of the moderately hot liquid down my throat relaxes me, and I hope it's helping soothe Weiss's throat as well.

I see Weiss fiddling with one of the buttons on her sleep shirt, her other hand rests on her mug that's sitting on the edge of the table. Across from me, she shifts her position so that she's on her knees with her legs slightly out to the side next to her.

I find myself staring at her legs for a moment longer than necessary and quickly moved my eyes back up to see Weiss staring out the window.

She doesn't look sad or distressed. She looks bereaved of all emotion completely.

"What about you, Ruby?"

I feel myself jerk back a bit, not expecting to hear her voice.

"What about what?"

"What do you want to do when you're older?"

I open my mouth to speak… and immediately close it again. It's not often that I'm at a loss for something to say, but here's that question again.

What do I want to do with my future? I sure as hell don't know.

It reminds me of the conversation I had earlier today, the one with Mr. Oobleck. He told me he could see me having some sort of future revolving around science. He even went as far as to invite me to some big, geeky science event for only students he chooses. Only the students he thought were worth taking. And I was one of them.

Just then, I remember I shoved the paper he gave me into my pocket when I left his class. I also notice Weiss has turned her attention from the window to me and is giving me a quizzical look at my lack of response.

I reach down and burrowed my hand into my pocket and pull out the crumbled yellow paper. I hand it to Weiss, who grabs it with that same questioning expression before unfolding it and skimming her eyes over some words.

"A… science and engineering festival?"

My shoulders stiffen a bit and I give Weiss a meek shrug to indicate my cluelessness to it as well.

"I'm not really sure about what I want to do, but my teacher thinks I'd be good at stuff like this…"

Weiss continues reading and after I watch those crystal clear blue eyes skim over a few lines she starts nodding her head.

"I have noticed you're very astute in science class. At times, I would even go as far to say brilliant." Weiss finishes skimming the paper and looks up at me. "I can definitely see you working in a field like this."

I feel my face heat up at the complement and the look Weiss is giving me. I look down at my sneakers, hoping she wouldn't notice.

"I'm not sure if I wanna go though…"

"Well, you might never know if the area is for you or not if you don't go."

Still looking at my shoes, I tilt my head to the side and let out a sigh.

"I guess you're right…"

Weiss looks thoughtful for a moment.

"What about your parents? What do they do?"

"My dad works for some business, he's actually pretty low on the career ladder right now, but I know he's trying his hardest!"

"And your mom?"

I freeze, feeling my entire body visibly stiffen from her words.

There it is. The dreaded question. The question that's haunted me all my life.

Normally, I wouldn't be very comfortable talking about my family situation. However, I feel like I can trust Weiss with anything.

Maybe it's the patient look she was giving me, or the fact that I know so much about her, but I can't find a single reason to hold any of the information from Weiss.

"I, uh… I don't really have a mom."

I see the blue irises, staring at my grey ones from across the table, grow wide in surprise.

Weiss's posture also slightly stiffens, and the hand that had been fiddling with her shirt button stops moving. Her mouth hangs slightly agape and she looks to be at almost as much of a loss for words as I had been a minute ago, when asked about my future plans.

"Ruby, I'm-"

I cut her off before the inevitable apology was to happen.

"Weiss, it's okay. I never… I never really knew her. She died when I was really young."

I flit my gaze away from hers and to the side, toward the rain now lightly tapping against the windows.

"But I don't look at it as a gloomy thing because the family I have now is really all I've ever known. My dad supports us, both me and Yang, and everything we do. He always tells us to keep moving forward, that's all we can do when something unexpected happens. And we make the most of it."

"Your dad sounds like an admirable person."

"Oh, he is! He works _really_ hard to make sure Yang and I have everything we need. Although, we don't get to see him except for late at night, after he's done with work. We always spend the time when he's around together."

I see Weiss nod out of the corner of my eye and feel a small smile grow on my face.

I also notice the record player has stopped playing. The tracks must've all been over. The only sounds that are left, besides me and Weiss, is the rain that has mostly turned into a slight drizzle at this point.

Weiss gets a conflicted expression on her face before looking over at me with discretion.

"Forgive me if this is to invasive, but… I noticed a while back you and Yang have different last names. Is that related to your mom passing?"

I turn my smile towards her so that she knows I don't find it to be meddlesome.

"Kind of, Yang has my dad's and his first wife's name. After she left him, and he remarried my mom a few years later, they decided they wanted to give me my mom's maiden name."

Weiss doesn't have any particular expression on her face, but I can tell she is listening intently and cares about what I'm saying, even if she isn't showing it.

"Thank you for sharing that, Ruby... Sometimes I feel like I know so little about you."

I scratch the back of my head and let out a small chuckle.

"Sorry, I guess most of the time we're together I focus more on yo-"

I feel my face start to turn red as I realize what I just admitted to Weiss. She gives me a shy smile and raises her eyebrows.

This only makes me more embarrassed and I move my hands up to cover my coloring face while falling sideways onto the floor. I hear Weiss start to actually, truly, laugh at my actions and even through my humiliation the voice sounds magical.

 _I wonder what she sounds like when she sings…_

However, my thoughts are cut short as Weiss's laughter soon turns into a coughing fit. She has to put a hand over her mouth and turn away from me as she all but coughs up a lung.

I sit up and give her a concerned look, but she waves me off as she lets out the rest of it and looks to the clock on the other side of the room.

"I'm honestly quite tired." She rasps. "Ruby, would you mind getting me a glass of water and bringing it up to my room?"

I vigorously nod my head.

"Of course."

Weiss stands up from her spot on the floor across from me, pinching the front of her shirt as she pulls it back and forth to fan herself. She starts walking over to the stairs in the hallway just outside of the room we're in. When she reaches the banister she puts her hand on the circular head of the railing and turns towards me.

"Up the stairs, around the corner, third door on the left."

I give her another nod and a thumbs up.

"Got it."

She walks up the stairs until I can't see her anymore and I stand up and pick up our empty mugs on the table. I might as well wash them for her, since she's sick. It's the least I could do.

I walk back into the surprisingly modest kitchen that I had made the hot cocoa in. At first I was surprised at the normal size of the kitchen, considering what the rest of the house looks like, but Weiss told me that this was their second kitchen. Apparently they have three. I should've known.

I place the florally patterned cups into the sink and turn the water on. I rinse them out, dry them off with some nearby paper towels and admire the designs one more time before setting them back into the cabinet where I'd found them. As I placed them in I grab a fancy looking glass that was near them for Weiss's water.

There isn't a full fridge in this kitchen, so I walk over to the little mini fridge tucked under the marble counter and find a small ice machine in the top of it. I scoop some up in my hand and drop it into the glass before heading back to the sink. I filled the glass with water and begin my walk to Weiss's room.

As I start walking up the stairs, I feel my heartbeat quickening at the realization I've never been in Weiss's room before.

I reach the top and see a few doors. There's a turn in the hallway about twenty yards down so I follow Weiss's directions and walk towards it. As I round the corner, I see the door Weiss was talking about toward the end of the hall.

I slowly walk over and stop in front of the intimidating object.

I feel my pulse racing and the glass in my hand shaking. I reach my hand out to grab the doorknob, but freeze an inch away from it.

 _Stop being so nervous, Ruby!_

Deep breath.

 _It's only your friend's room - quit stalling_.

I gently place my hand on the shiny handle and turn the knob. I gradually push the door open, but only step a respectable foot inside.

"Weiss, I brought yo-"

My eyes widened as I look in front of me.

Weiss is laying down on her bed, rolled over on her side, knees tucked slightly backwards and delicate hands placed under her head as she… slept?

Had Weiss fallen asleep in the short amount of time I took to clean the mugs and get her water?

 _She must have really been tired._

I step another foot in, so that I'm standing right in the entry way, and take a look around the room.

The first thought that comes to my mind is that it definitely looks like a 'Weiss' room.

The walls are a soft blue with a white, wooden trim around the bottom. The floors are made of white fluffy carpet that I'm pretty sure my sneakers are making indents in. On the far side of the room is a desk facing a wall that has a big window in it, and on either side of the desk are big bookcases, full of all kinds of reference material I imagine.

I step in a bit further and feel a bead of sweat drop off the water glass, tracing its way down my hand.

There is a sizable vanity in front of Weiss's bed. It's white with little pink accents here and there and looks super expensive. She has a lot of stuff lying on it, ranging from some makeup to reports and books.

I walk over and run my hand across the edge of the desk. Even with all the stuff on it, it still looks organized and tidy.

 _Yep, just like Weiss…_

I chuckle lightly to myself and immediately move to cover my mouth with my hand. I slowly turn to where Weiss is still comfortably resting and let out a silent sigh of relief that I hadn't woken her up.

Weiss's bed is big; king sized probably. It was a canopy bed too, the kind that had drapes all around it. Weiss's in particular were light blue with some darker blue stripes at the end.

I quietly walk over and run a hand down them to see if they're as soft as they looked. They are.

 _Goddammit, Ruby, you're acting so creepy! Stop it! What if Weiss wakes up?_

I take my hand off, feeling guilty, and look for a place to set down the water I was still holding. I walk around the bed and place the glass on a coaster sitting on Weiss's nightstand.

I clamp my hand a few times after letting go, and flit my gaze over to Weiss's sleeping form. I wouldn't say the position she's in is compromising in any way, but it did give me some… _not_ so pure ideas.

I violently shake my head to rid the thoughts and turn around to look for a blanket to cover her with. I notice on the edge of her bed is a small quilt, so I grab that and pull it up over her body.

I lean down to make sure it reaches up to her chin and I pull it up until I'm satisfied.

When I finish I reluctantly bring my hands back and rest them on my knees. I realize I'm staring at Weiss, but at this point I don't really care.

I know I've thought about it before, but it really should be a crime for someone to be as pretty as she is. Even now with her mouth hanging slightly open and her normally nice and tidy hair sticking out all around her, she's striking.

I know I probably shouldn't, but I reach back towards her and brush some bangs out of her face. Her hair is smooth and silky, it feels like freshly spun silk and I want nothing more than to bury my hands in it.

I look down and watch her stomach move up and down in a steady rhythm; just like the forgotten rain pounding the windows, it's almost like the beats were fighting for my attention.

But one of them is _so much_ more captivating. So much so that it's painful.

I don't exactly know why, or when, but I start leaning towards her.

It feels almost like my body is on auto-pilot. The only thing I can hear was the pounding of the rain on the windows. Or is that my pulse? I can't tell. It doesn't matter anyways. Not right now.

My face edges towards her. Slowly, like water-lilies floating down a stream, or like a cloud as it passes across the sky.

I'm less than an inch away - when I hear a soft whine come from an area all too close to me.

My eyes, that had been slowly fliting closed, shoot open as though a trance had been broken.

I fiercely rear myself back, stumbling over my own feet as I slam myself against the wall.

The rhythm I'm hearing is all too loud.

So loud that it's deafening.

I feel like I'm drowning in the noise and clutch my hand to the front of my shirt breathing heavily - erratically - while using my other hand to grasp my forehead.

Weiss shifts in her bed so that she's lying on her back and continues in her innocent slumber.

The steady drum of my pulse is so loud I can't take it anymore.

I sprint out of Weiss's room, stumbling frantically down the stairs and out the door.

The rain instantly starts berating my clothes, seeping through them and soaking my skin underneath. Even so, I can't feel a drop.

The rain is so heavy I can barely see where I'm running and I ram my stomach into the fountain in front of her house as a result. Even so, I don't feel a thing.

I kick my bike's stopper with as much force as I can muster and throw myself over the seat as I take off. My adrenaline begins wearing off and I can feel the fatigue in my legs, but even so, I won't stop.

The only thing I can hear is my heartbeat. The only thing I can feel are my fingertips as they grip my bikes handles so hard it threatens to break them in half. And the only thing I can think of was what I had almost just done.

I almost kissed Weiss.

 _Oh my god._

* * *

 **Gardenia: symbolizes purity and sweetness. They indicate secret love. They convey joy. They tell the receiver you are lovely.  
Amaryllis: symbolic of splendid beauty. It is also used to indicate worth beyond beauty.  
Hope you enjoyed~**


	9. Puzzle Pieces

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 9: Puzzle Pieces  
**

By the time I had reached my house I was a completely soaked mess.

As soon as I opened the door to my home, Yang came walking in from the kitchen and froze upon seeing my appearance. She grew concerned and immediately asked me what happened, but I just shrugged her off.

I turned my head to the side and jumped up and down to get some rain out of my waterlogged ears. After squeezing some of the water out of my hair and taking off my soaked jacket, Yang gave up on fussing over me and told me to go take a shower.

Wordlessly, I had obeyed and walked up the stairs somewhat robotically.

I trudged myself over to the bathroom and after shutting the door shed my sopping uniform.

This brings me to where I am now. As soon as I step into the shower and feel the warm water trickling onto my skin I was reminded of my not-so-pleasant bike ride here, along with the events before it.

I'm immediately filled with shame and rankling regret.

No matter how hot I turn the faucet, each drop that touches my skin is barely felt. I run my hand through my hair over and over again in a calming motion as I let the heated water run down my back and chest.

As I step out of the shower, I wrap a white, fluffy towel around me and walk down the hall into my room.

I open the door and turn the lights on, but not all the way, so that my room is just lit enough for me to see what I'm doing. I walk over to my closet and pull on a pair of gym shorts and a red t-shirt.

I look up at my computer, but didn't feel myself move towards it, as I normally would. I wasn't in the mood to play any video games or to watch any television; instead, I walk over to my twin bed in the corner of my room and curl up on my side.

 _Ugh, what did I just do?_

The scene kept replaying in my head, like it was on some haunting loop that's only goal is to taunt me until I go mad.

Weiss lying there with her mouth slightly open, bangs falling into her perfectly shaped eyes, hands cupped under her chin to slightly elevate her head, and hair sprawled out all around her. Her face… slowly becoming clearer, more detailed, as I moved my head closer to hers. The innocence, vulnerability, she showed in that moment... it had been too much.

 _Am I really so desperate that I would take advantage of her in her sleep?_

I clutch my hands closer to my chest, shifting into a slightly tighter ball on my bed as I think about all the other times I've been with Weiss.

I remember a time a few weeks ago; Weiss and I had been stuck in the club room after school to finish signing some papers. She had looked so stressed, so deep in thought, and I had tapped her on the arm to get her attention. When she looked at me, I made a show of trying to balance a pencil on my nose. She told me to stop messing around, in the usual Weiss fashion, but when I tried to keep the pencil steady, and somehow ended up banging my head onto the desk, she thought it was pretty amusing.

 _God_ , she's cute when she laughs.

She's also cute when she blushes, which I noticed happens fairly frequently, like when I give her complements out of the blue or tell her how much of a hard worker and admirable person I think she is. And even even though I tease her about it, she really does have a hard time taking compliments and usually gets really bashful over them from time to time, even if she'd never admit it.

Yeah, Weiss was plenty cute… but sometimes she was just plain beautiful.

Like when I see her at school in the morning and that white, slightly damp, hair was in its freshly made side ponytail and her uniform was clear of any creases or wrinkles. I notice when she sits in class, she always crosses both her legs and has the most painfully straight posture I've ever seen. When she walks her head is always held high in a mature and confident manor, almost smug, but just enough to be intimidating.

She gets so many looks in the hallway, hell, she could have her pick of anyone at school if she wanted. She's never seemed too interested though, most of the time she takes to berating me about something or the other instead.

Of course, she can also be stubborn, and strict, and yell at me a lot, but when you look past that, she really only does it because she cares. She cares in her harsh, weird, Weiss way of caring, however constructive or cynical it can be, she still cares.

But… does she care about me in _that_ way?

If I care about her in _that_ way, then it would certainly explain why I get so flustered around her.

I feel like I turn into a stuttering, bumbling, mess half the time she's around. I can't help but think of what Weiss thinks of me. I practically beg for her attention and approval at times, often disrupting her work, however, through all that she somehow manages to keep her cool and leveled head.

 _So unfair…_

But does that mean I want to, like, date Weiss?

I feel my face turn red and I bury my head into the neck-hole of my t-shirt.

I've never given much thought to my preferences, or dating in general, but I wasn't _that_ dense. Of course I've had an idea since I was younger that I might be attracted to girls.

When I was about eight or so, I had a few female idols that I really admired and wanted to be like. They were mainly from shows I watched or just singers I liked. However, as I got a little older, I came to the realization that the thing I was feeling might not be admiration, but something more along the lines of a crush.

Of course, there were other things, like slightly longer lasting stares that necessary in locker rooms, realizing I kept watching _only_ the third Indiana Jones movie because I thought the lead actress was hot, or when I realized by the time I reached high school that it was weird I'd never had a legit crush on anyone.

I sigh and slip my face back out of my shirt collar. I bring my hands up to my face and rub them in circles on my temple.

I understand Weiss has a lot of personal issues. She gets panic attacks, which is sadly something I'll never fully understand, even though I've been trying to find ways to help her.

She comes from a broken family, but in a way, so do I. And although both her parents are alive, sometimes I wonder if it's harder having a parent and knowing they don't give two shits about what you're up to, or not having one at all.

She has insecurities, everyone does, but Weiss seems to have hit the motherlode in that department.

It's because of all these things I know, but have yet to understand about Weiss, that makes me want to protect her.

And I know fully well that Weiss doesn't need or want to be protected.

But I just can't help getting so, so… _possessive_ of her sometimes. It honestly scares me.

I remember how I'd felt a while back when I hid in the bathroom and saw Neptune trying to get Weiss to hang out with him. It was the same feeling I had when Jaune had said he liked Weiss, the same feeling I get when I see some of the other council members chatting with Weiss.

 _I never thought I'd be such a jealous person._

There are times when I want to go up to Weiss and talk to her about nothing in particular like the weather, or homework. There are also times when I wish I could hug Weiss again, like I did the first time I visited her house, with my arms wrapped around her torso and my face buried in her chest.

I often think back to the bike ride we had together to the reservoir and how she had taught me to skip stones. I remember how the sun had cast a golden shadow around her figure, perfectly outlining the scar running down her eye and the dip towards her nose leading to her lips.

I thought about what it would be like to kiss her.

 _Finally_ being able to entangle my hands into that soft, blindingly white, hair and slowly bringing our faces closer as we melted together. I would bring my hands out of her hair to wrap them around her waist instead, clinging onto it like it was a raft keeping me afloat and safe from harm. I would bring them down low-

"Ruby?"

I'm jolted out of my thoughts by my dad calling for dinner outside of my, thankfully, closed door.

"Ruby are you alright? Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

I sit halfway up on my bed and crane my neck towards the door.

"I-I'm fine. I'll be right down!"

I hear him make a 'hmph' sound and stay still until I can no longer hear his receding footsteps. I grab a pillow at the front of my bed and hug it close to my chest, nuzzling my red face into it as another image of Weiss passes through my mind.

She doesn't even know what happened. She's going to come to school tomorrow completely unaware of what I had almost done to her. What I put myself through tonight. It's so, _so_ unfair.

I hug the pillow tighter to my chest.

* * *

I avoid Weiss on Tuesday.

I just couldn't trust myself to act normal around her.

It started this morning when I realized I had left my bag at Weiss's house. Of course, Weiss had realized this too, seeing as how she's standing at the front entrance with said object in hand.

Knowing that I would have to confront her at least once today is enough for me to start feeling queasy.

As I ride my bike through the entrance, hunching over a bit in the hopes Weiss might not see me, I'm called out to.

"Ruby!"

I look over a crowd of students walking in, and see Weiss waving an arm at me. She holds out my backpack and pushes herself off of the wall she'd been leaning against, making her way toward me.

Knowing the inevitable was to happen, I slowly turn my bike closer to the front steps of the school. I stop at the bottom of the short incline where there weren't many students as Weiss starts to descend the stairs.

I look up, and our eyes meet for a split second. I turn away immediately, feeling my face grow hot at the sight of those sharp, deep blue orbs.

I can tell Weiss must've been making a face at me as she reaches the bike, but I keep my eyes trained on my handle bars.

"You left your bag at my house you dunce." She holds the item out at me.

I give a weak laugh as I grab the backpack, keeping my gaze down as I do so.

"Heh, my bad…"

"Sorry about falling asleep like that yesterday." Weiss flips some bangs out of her eyes and lets out am annoyed huff of air. "I'm still a bit sick but I just didn't want to miss any more school, so I came in."

I nod my head.

We stand there for a moment, an uncomfortably long silence stretched between us.

"…Ruby, are you alright?"

I gulp and throw my head back up into its normal position, holding my gaze forward.

"Of course I am! What're you even talking about?"

I give a little _too_ hard of a laugh, and watch as Weiss raises an eyebrow at me.

"Well, first off, you're so pale you look like you've seen a ghost, " Weiss puts a hand on her hip and rears her head back a little. "Second off, you're not even looking at me, which is incredibly rude by the way."

I scuff my shoe on the ground, the one that's not holding me and my bike up.

"I'm fine… just a little tired."

Weiss gives me a confused look and opens her mouth, like she's about to say something else, but I cut her off.

"Well, I gotta get to class. See you later!"

I push off the ground and towards the bike rack, leaving a stunned Weiss in my wake.

* * *

Weiss is in about half of my classes so it was more difficult than I thought it would be to avoid her.

Normally, I went up to Weiss before each class started and had some sort of conversation with her. At first Weiss didn't seem too keen on getting to know me better, but now that we're pretty good friends I don't think she minds it as much.

During English, the first class we have together, I walked in before Weiss and took my normal seat towards the back. I didn't make an attempt to move when she came in and sat in her usual seat towards the front. I saw her look back at one point but swiftly moved my gaze down to the notebook on my desk. I spent the rest of the class zoning out and staring at the back of her head.

When History rolled around I got a bit more nervous. We sit diagonally from each other in this class and Weiss normally gets there first. I walked in and was relieved to see that Penny was already in her spot beside me, but on the opposite side of Weiss. I talked to her until class started, not giving Weiss the opportunity to join the conversation.

Science was my last period of the day. Weiss sat a few rows over from me and I came in before her, so I wasn't very worried about having to face her. When Weiss did show up I pull my binder out of my bag and pluck through old worksheets to make myself look busy.

However, instead of walking to her own seat, I hear the familiar clicking of heels strolling up beside my desk.

I look over, so she knows I acknowledge her presence, but I don't look up to meet her eyes.

"Ruby, I w-"

I cut off her sentence by loudly ripping out a piece of paper from my binder.

"Sorry, Weiss. I really gotta finish this… can't talk right now."

I start scribbling some random formulas on the paper, to make it look like I was actually doing something.

Weiss's mouth hung open slightly and she blinks a few times. I notice her posture falter for a split second, right before she flits her gaze to the side, muttering a quiet apology and walking away.

 _Ugh, this is so frustrating!_

I angrily shove a hand into my hair as my pencil continues making pointless marks on the paper.

I'm a horrible person, an absolute hypocrite.

Here I am, thinking about how much I want to talk to Weiss, to be around her, to touch her… when in reality, I'm just evading her and making her think that _she's_ somehow the one at fault.

The entire class period this is all I can think about and it makes me want to scream.

I feel guilty for not talking to her, however, I would feel even guiltier talking to her and acting like I didn't almost attack her in her sleep.

I take a break from taking notes to run my hands down my face. I let out a silent breath and take a risk looking over at Weiss.

In all honesty, she seems about as zoned out as I am.

Her pencil moves with the teacher's words but she seemed to be subconsciously absent. It's that same empty gaze that I've seen so many, _too_ many, times. That's the look I hate most on Weiss; not her being mad, or bored, or even annoyed, just… devoid of all emotions completely.

As soon as the bell rings I throw my backpack over my shoulder and made a beeline for the door.

I can feel my emotions going haywire as I internally struggle with all these different things I keep feeling.

My mind feels like an incomplete puzzle; one that you just started, knew where some pieces went, and have even managed to put some pieces together, but after you've fit together the first few fragments, what then?

There are so many options that I could take from here, some that are more risky than others, some that might take a long time to figure out, some that might seem rushed, but might pay off in the end.

As soon as I round the last corner I have to bypass, in order to leave the school out of the side entrance, I feel my stomach drop.

Weiss stands in front of the door, arms across her chest, looking more pissed then I've seen her in a long time.

Instantly, we make eye contact.

We stare at each other for a few seconds, both of us unmoving. Weiss squints her eyes at me and a nervous smile etches its way onto my face.

I slowly disengage the eye contact and turn on my heel, starting to walk in the opposite direction.

"Ruby Rose, you will get over here _this_ instant!"

 _Uh-oh…_

I flinch as I hear her call my name and meakly swerve my direction back towards that intimidating glare.

Her eyes widen in expectancy as she motions with her finger for me to, essentially, get my ass over there.

At a deliberately slowed pace, I slink over to the exit door Weiss is standing in front of, and stop about five feet away from her. She doesn't say anything, just raises an eyebrow at me.

"What!?" I ask in a shrill voice.

"You know what."

I throw my hands up in the air, feigning ignorance.

"Don't play _dumb_ with me, Ruby," Weiss says, taking a step forward. "You've _obviously_ been avoiding me all day!"

"I-I have not! I've just been busy."

I'm pretty sure my voice crack gives away my nervousness, but Weiss just rolls her eyes and ignores it.

"No, you've been _weird_ all day."

"I have not!" I counter, taking a step forward.

"Then how about you look me in the eye and say that, _dammit!"_

I move my head from side to side, continuing to avoid looking at her as I think of something to say.

I watch as her anger transitions into confusion, and from confusion to uncertainty. And then, in a very non-Weiss fashion, her posture shrinks, almost like a scared animal, and she looks to the floor.

"I'm sorry, but if somethings the matter… then _please_ tell me, Ruby."

She was practically begging me.

 _The_ Weiss Schnee was _begging_ me to tell her what's wrong.

"It's not…really…" I make a pathetic gesture with my hand as I trail off.

Weiss makes the most pained- _hurt_ expression, and to be completely honest she looks so lost and confused that she might cry.

I can't take it anymore; I need to leave before I lose my self-control.

"I'm sorry, Weiss…"

I briskly walk past her, lightly brushing her shoulder in the most agonizing goodbye we've ever shared.

And as I leave the building I can't help but hear the quiet, doleful voice behind me.

"...Did I do something wrong?"

* * *

When I get home, I know it's time to settle this once and for all.

I walk up into my room, throwing my backpack onto my bed, and tossing my uniform jacket off, leaving me in my collared shirt. I turn on my computer and my monitor and plop myself down into my chair.

 _Save me internet!_

Once my computer boots up, I open chrome and stare at the search bar for a few seconds. I know what I want to type in, but for some reason it feels kind of weird.

I double check to make sure the door to my room is closed and let my hovering hands start moving over the keys.

 **How do I know if I like someone?**

Ugh, it sounds so cheesy when I type it out. At this point though, I couldn't care less. I need help before I made my situation any worse.

I click enter and one of the first websites that popped up on my screen was a quiz.

 **Do You Like Them? (!Click here to find out!)**

I gulp and debate on just abandoning this whole idea of searching the internet. Even someone completely clueless and without any common sense should realize this was probably some scam anyways.

I end up clicking on it.

The first question comes up immediately.

 **Do you think about them?**

I tilt my head to the side and scrunch up my face. I think about Weiss quite a lot, actually. I don't really get what that proves though. I click the 'yes' button.

 **Do you catch yourself staring at them?**

I don't think I stare at Weiss that much… unless I'm, like, talking to her or something, but does that even count? Rather than staring, I feel like I observe - no - appreciate her appearance? She's really pretty after all.

I bite the nail on my forefinger and click the 'sometimes' option.

 **Do you think they're cute/hot?**

 _Godammit_ …

I click yes.

 **Do you dream about them, day dream too?**

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. I can see where this is heading already. I click 'yes'.

 **Do you think that he/she likes you?**

I doubt it.

Of course I know Weiss likes me as a friend, she's said so herself. I don't think she's really thought much about the possibility of going out with someone, let alone a girl. That much became obvious to me with her blatant distaste when boys try flirting with her at school. She normally just brushes them off.

The more I think about it, the more I feel a pout starting to form on my face. So, grumbling to myself, I click the 'No' option and continue on to the last question.

 **Do you want to date them?**

 _What the hell kind of a question is that? I'm taking the quiz to find that out, right?_

I pull my legs up into my chair and rest my head on my knees.

I know what dating generally entrails, but I didn't have any first-hand experience. That being said, the thought of me and Weiss doing some of those things sends a jolt of electricity through me.

I feel my hand hover above the 'yes' button… but for some reason it makee me feel really guilty. I opt for the 'maybe' button instead.

And then the results pop up.

 **You got: You really like them, you're just too shy to admit it! Stop denying your feelings and make them known!**

I stare at the screen, a disgruntled expression on my face.

I pull my hands away from my keyboard and wrap my arms around my legs, knees still tucked into my chest, and my head still resting on top of them.

Instead of feeling the shame I'd been feeling for the past day, or the regret of doing what I did to Weiss, or thinking about everything I've done and have been doing wrong to her, and instead of hurling myself across the room to curl up on the bed and forget about this whole mess... for the first time, I smile.

 _You like her~_

A little sing-song voice in my head chimes in and I feel butterflies in my stomach fluttering to the surface. It feels like I'm walking on air and all the clouds that had muddled the path had finally parted ways for me.

And those puzzle pieces all fit into perfect place.


	10. Bonfire

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 10: Bonfire**

I sit at the small island in my kitchen, doing some very overdue homework.

This whole week has been pretty rough. Weiss and I have barely been talking. We still see each other waking around the halls and in class but it's just... awkward.

Each time Weiss looks at me - I feel both butterflies trying to crawl out of my stomach and a tremendous guilt that weighs me back down to the floor. It's this feeling of wanting nothing more than to be close to her, but at the same time wanting to be in the other side of the planet.

What makes it even more incredibly awkward is the fact that I think other people are starting to notice the odd atmosphere between us.

Earlier this week, Penny asked me if something had happened between us - and of course I wasn't gonna tell her I had some revelation about my feelings for Weiss, which gave me no choice but to lie. I've been doing a lot of that lately. Lying, that is.

By far the worst part of all this is that I _know_ I'm hurting Weiss; it's written all over her face.

Each time we've crossed paths this week I can see the small slump in her shoulders, the pause in her uncertain steps, and those piercing blue eyes that seem to look through me, like they're asking what they did wrong.

And I still can't bring myself to talk to her.

I even went as far as to skip the Wednesday meeting earlier on in the week. Weiss didn't contact me about it.

I feel like a complete asshole.

Taking my unmoving pencil that was resting on my unfinished assignment, I lean over to set it down on the table. I let out a sigh and fall back on the bar stool I'm sitting on to take a much needed break, running a hand up my face and through my messy hair.

Even with all this guilt weighing me down, with all these horrible things I've been thinking, like how Weiss might view me if I told her what happened or that she might never forgive me for the way I've been acting, I also feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest.

Figuring out what exactly Weiss was to me, what I _want_ her to be to me, has made me feel a lot more… clear headed?

Since I first met her, I'm pretty sure I've been mistaking my crush for admiration. Not that I don't admire her as well; I think that was just my own quirky way of blocking out the thought from my head.

However, even with that weight being lifted there's a brand new one that it's been replaced by: the pain of not being able to bring myself to talk to her. Just to _talk_ to her.

It's been driving me nuts because I wanted to _so_ bad, but I'm worried that if I _did_ start a conversation and apologize, that these knew-found feelings I'm harboring would come tumbling out, like an avalanche plunging down a mountain with no way to stop it.

I run my hands down my face and drop my forehead onto the table.

 _Oh god, what would Weiss think of me?_

I hear the front door slam shut and the clanging of keys. Not bothering to move my head from the table, I hear someone enter the kitchen.

"Wow sis, homework that bad?"

I turn my head that was still lying on the table towards the kitchen archway Yang is currently walking through. I give her a groan in response, making her laugh.

Yang walks over to the counter and sets her keys down. "It's Friday, Rubes. Would've thought you'd be playing video games or something."

I shrug and bring my head off the table to rest it on top of my arms. Yang was one of the people who's noticed how I've been acting. She hasn't asked me anything, but I know she must be curious. I just don't have the energy to go into detail.

Yang walks over to the fridge and takes out a water bottle, unscrewing the lid and downing it in a few seconds. She then looks at the fridge and plucks one of the various sticky notes off the front.

"Damn, dad says it's my turn to do dishes."

She sets her water bottle down and walks over to our dishwasher next to the sink, opening it and sliding the first rack of dishes out. I use one of my fingers to nudge the pencil lying on the counter around in circles.

"Hey, Yang…"

Yang sets a few plates down on the counter and gives me a quick look out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah?"

I bite my lip nervously and stare at my pencil. "What do you do when you're having a fight with someone and you know you're the one that caused it?"

Yang pauses and looks thoughtful for a moment.

"I'd apologize."

"But… what if it's not that simple?"

Yang starts putting the plates in a cabinet and raises an eyebrow at me to elaborate.

"Like - what if you were intentionally ignoring them because you knew something they didn't that could potentially ruin your friendship."

"Well," Yang says, bending down to get some silverware out of the bottom of the dishwasher. "If it was something that important… even if it could ruin my friendship I would still let them know, since it was something I caused."

"But what if you know they'll probably be mad?" I ask, still fiddling with my pencil.

Yang stops putting away the silverware and faced me, putting her hands on her hips. "Ruby, what's this about?"

My eyes grow wide and I guiltily avert my gaze to the counter, not saying anything.

"Is this about why you and Weiss have been acting so weird around each other?"

I feel my mouth drop open slightly and I look back up. "Wha- how'd you know about that!?"

"Honestly, I think most people have noticed at this point. You normally stick to her like a lost puppy, but lately you just haven't been around her at all. You even missed a meeting last week. Weiss was pretty pissed, even went as far to call you petty."

Yang finishes putting the silverware up and moves on to all the cups in the top of the dishwasher.

"What'd you do to make her so pissed anyways?" She asks.

I feel my face turn red. I haven't told a single person about what happened that day at Weiss's - and I really don't want to tell Yang.

I halfheartedly shrug and pick up the pencil I've been nudging around to twirl it between my fingers.

Yang just gives me a skeptical look and starts putting cups in the cupboards. "Well, maybe Nora's party tomorrow will cheer you up."

"Huh?" I question dumbly.

I had completely forgotten about Nora's party. I guess my mind has been preoccupied elsewhere.

"Don't tell me you're not going?" Yang scoffs at me.

I had only thought about going in the first place because I wanted to go with Weiss. Unfortunately, that didn't seem very likely to happen now that we're ignoring each other's existence. Parties aren't really my scene anyways. They were just loud, crowded, and full of people I don't know.

I give Yang my best excuse.

"I don't really have anyone to go with…"

"What about Penny?" Yang asks, setting some more cups onto a shelf.

"Penny's at a math competition this weekend."

Yang nods her head thoughtfully and lets out a humming sound as she continues to think.

"What about you? Who are you going with?" I ask.

"Me?" Yang flips some hair over her shoulder and lets out a short laugh. "I'm not _going_ with anyone, but I _am_ meeting Blake and some other council members there."

I kick the bottom of the counter I'm sitting at with my sneakers. I've gotten a bit taller over the past few months but, sadly, my feet still don't reach the floor.

I bite my lip and tilt my head to the side. I don't really want to go to the party if I wasn't going with Weiss.

"Hmm, maybe I'll just stay home and play some games or something…" I trail off.

Yang finishes putting the dishes away and closes the dishwasher with a loud slam that makes me jump a little. She grabs the water bottle she set down earlier and hops up on the counter across from me. Taking a sip, she looks over at me guiltily.

"C'mon, don't be like this, Ruby. Why don't you come with me? Bumblebee _does_ have two seats."

"It's kinda lame going to a party with your sister isn't it?" I sulk.

"Psh, not when your sister is as cool as me." Yang flips some more of her hair back, making me giggle. "Besides, I heard Nora talking to Weiss at the meeting Wednesday. It sounded like Weiss was thinking about coming."

My train of thought momentarily stops. I feel my eyes widen and I look up at Yang in earnest.

"Really?"

"Yeah, _Really!_ You could come in with me, actually _socialize_ for a bit, maybe even have some fun, then find Weiss and kiss and make up. Easy as that."

I feel my face burn red. I know Yang is joking, she doesn't actually _know,_ but it's still embarrassing to think about.

"Sh-shut up…"

Yang just laughs and jumps back off the counter. She walks over to me and ruffles my hair, giving me knowing look.

"You can't avoid her forever, Ruby. You should at least try making things better before they get any worse."

I let out a long sigh and bang my head back onto the table as Yang exits the kitchen.

 _You think I don't know that already?_

* * *

Yang and I pull up to the front of Nora's house on Bumblebee.

It's about eight at night - so it isn't really hard spotting the one house in the neighborhood that was lit up like a Christmas tree.

The street surrounding the home is full of cars and there were people littered on the front lawn. Most of the people consisted of a group of about ten boys that were throwing around a football and talking to each other. There were a few other groups here and there just standing and chatting, but I could already tell there would be a lot more people inside.

From the driveway, even over the sound of Yang's motorcycle engine, I can hear music blaring from inside the house.

I gulp as I hop off the seat and nervously looked towards the backyard, where I can't really see anything, but can definitely make out a light orange glow coming from behind the fence, which is presumably the bonfire.

The kids on the front lawn all cheer and fist bumped each other as one guy gets tackled. I notice they look to be a lot older than high school students.

As Yang takes her helmet off I tug on the elbow of her sleeve.

"Is this really a high school party?" I ask nervously.

Yang looks towards the house and then at the people on the lawn.

"I don't know about _high school_ party, but it's definitely _my_ kind of party." Yang purrs and lifts her eyebrows.

I groan and she just laughs, motioning for me to lean towards her so she can take my helmet off. She always makes sure I wear one.

She unclips it and sets it on the bike handle opposite of the one her helmet is resting on. She then motions for me to follow her inside and after I take a few step forward she turns around and stops me with her hand.

"What?"

"Hold on, sis."

She grabs the cuffs of my red hoodie and folds them over so that my hands are actually peeking out from the sleeves. She then sticks a hand in my hair and musses it a bit, disregarding my sounds of protest.

She had told me earlier to dress casual so I just threw on the oversized hoodie, a pair of jeans, and my sneakers before I left our house.

"Yaaang." I complain, as she tucks a few loose strands of hair behind my ears.

I hate when she babies me, especially in front of other people.

"Sorry, just trying to help!"

We make our way towards the door and as we walk inside the house I get a feel for how crowded it actually is.

The music is really loud and it makes me flinch a little as I enter the main room. There are people all over the place, some on the couch, some in big groups, and some sitting at a big table playing some card game with poker chips.

However, through the crowds of people I'm able to make out a speck of Orange hair coming towards us.

As soon as Yang spots Nora, who's dragging Ren behind her, she gives us a nod.

"Heeey! Glad you guys could make it!" Nora says over the music.

She has a can of some off-brand soda in her hand and I notice she's wobbling a bit. She also had her arm hooked around Ren's shoulder and is leaning on him rather forcefully. Ren doesn't seem to mind, he just looks annoyed.

"Sup, Nora. Have you seen Blake or Pyrrha?" Yang asks.

"Yep! Saw 'em out back by the fire a couple minutes ago."

"Sweet, talk to you guys later."

Yang saunters off down the hallway, leaving me with Ren and, from the looks of it, a slightly tipsy Nora. Ren leans over to a speaker near a flat screen on the wall and turns the knob down. When he does - I realize I can actually hear myself thinking again.

"I didn't think there would be so many people here." I say, fidgeting with one of my hoodie strings.

Nora giggles and Ren's face turns into a grimace.

"Yeah, neither did I." He says.

Nora waves him off, consequently tripping over one of her feet before steadying herself again.

"You can't just _expect_ people _not_ to bring other people to parties, Ren… speaking of which, I thought you and Weiss were coming together, Ruby?"

I frown and look to the side. Out of all the people that have noticed the weird behavior between us this week, Nora was probably the most oblivious.

I'm about to say something when Ren decides to pitch in.

"I believe I saw Weiss earlier."

"Really!?" I ask, my eyes bulging.

"Yeah, I think she was in the hallway talking with Neptune."

I feel my shoulders slump.

"…Really?"

 _Weiss actually came?_

The anticipation, immediately replaced with disappointment really gets to me.

… _And she's with Neptune?_

Nora goes into a hiccuping fit and starts to lean into Ren a little too much. He turns his face away, obviously appalled by her behavior. I've never really asked about the nature of their relationship, but I had assumed they were dating early on because of how much I saw them together and how close they seemed to be.

Although, looking at them now, I feel like they might be stuck somewhere around not dating but maybe a little more than friends. The thought makes an unexpected wave of envy wash over me, knowing that Weiss would probably never feel that way about me.

"Anything wrong Ruby? You're looking kinda pale." Nora says.

"Maybe you should get a drink?" Ren suggests, pointing to the kitchen.

Nora lazily nods in agreement.

"Yep, yep, drinks in the kitchen. Ren and I were about to head out to the fire if you wanna-"

Someone starts yelling in another room, cutting her off.

"YO NORA, Another round of beer-pong is starting up soon! You gotta get in on this!"

Nora fist pumps the air and gets a wicked smile on her face.

"Oh I'm _not_ missing this."

She pushes herself off of Ren, making him grunt, and saunters out of the room. I watch her round the corner into the dimly lit hallway and turn back around to raise an eyebrow at Ren, who lets out an exasperated sigh.

"We really didn't expect this many people, I think Nora's just trying out her hand on the _'wild side'_." He makes air quotes.

I give a short laugh.

" _Just_ trying out?"

"You know what I mean," Ren rubs the back of his neck. "Anyways, I should probably go after her before she gets into too much trouble."

I wave to him as he leaves. I realize I'm all alone now, standing off awkwardly in the corner. I look around for any familiar faces but I don't see anyone. I cringe at myself for being so socially inept and tug on the strings of my hoodie.

I stumble my way past a few people and head toward the kitchen Nora had pointed to.

The kitchen is pretty spacious. There are a few people around a circular dining table that had a large punch bowl in the center and some of those red solo cups sitting by it. I noticed a few people drinking out of those earlier as well.

On the kitchen counter there were a ton of soda bottles. Some were half empty, some were new, some didn't even have a lid, and some looked like they had been mixed with something and had odd colors swirling around in them.

I walk over and pick up a red cup off the counter and looked around at my options.

Someone taps me on the shoulder and I turn around to see a meager Jaune waving at me.

"Don't drink the punch." He says over the party chatter.

I scrunch up my nose and give him a knowing look.

"Trust me, I wasn't planning on it."

I reach over and grab an unopened bottle of Sprite and untwist the lid. Jaune moves beside me to lean against the counter, taking a long sip from his cup before setting it down on the countertop next to mine.

"Me too, please."

I fill his cup up too.

We both pick the cups up and hit them together before taking a sip. As I watch Jaune set the drink back down I notice he looks a bit down in the dumps.

"Is something wrong, buddy?" I ask, elbowing him in the side.

Jaune and I aren't exactly friends, but we talk to each other quite a lot during meetings and the classes we have together. When we're not talking about Weiss, or how he wants me to help him advance on her, we have pretty pleasant conversations.

"I thought Weiss would be coming with you… but I saw her with Neptune earlier."

 _So she really was talking to him?_

I feel the familiar vexation bubble up in me, mixed with my intolerance towards Neptune. I decide I should try inconspicuously asking what they had been chatting about, in a way that didn't make me sound as anxious as I'm feeling.

"Do you, uhm, remember what they were talking about by chance?"

He shrugs.

"Not sure. It just looked like they were talking."

"Did you come with anyone?" I ask, intentionally changing the subject.

"Pyrrha asked me to go, but I think it was just out of pity." He pouts.

I nod my head knowingly. I'm pretty sure it wasn't out of pity, but it's not really my place to mention that.

I look out a huge window at the end of the kitchen, the one that outlines the bonfire.

It's pretty packed in the backyard as well. There are a few picnic tables set out, and the fire, being the main attraction, has tons of chairs placed around it along with many groups of people. I spot Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha all sitting in some of the inner chairs, all laughing and seeming to be having a good time.

I also think there must be a different speaker system outside too because I can hear two different mixes of various pop songs playing.

Over the music, however, I hear someone yell loudly from the room next door, followed with what I believe to be Ren's voice.

"Nora, I think you've had enough…"

Jaune and I look at each other questioningly before setting our drinks down and making our way through a few crowds of people and into an archway that led into the room over.

It looks like a small game room, with a fold out table set up in the middle and some bookshelves surrounding it. There were also some people on the sidelines watching and commenting amongst themselves on what seems to be happening.

A stumbling Nora and Ren are on one side, while I see Cardin and one of his buddies on the other side. I sneer at him, but reason with myself that he's not worth my time and walk over to my friends instead.

Nora's eyes are only halfway open and she's leaning on Ren again with her arm wrapped around his shoulder. I grab her other arm to help steady her and I feel Jaune walking up beside me.

"Is she okay?" He asks, most likely already knowing the answer.

Ren rolls his eyes incredulously.

"What does it _look_ like?"

"Do you need us to do anything?" I chime in nervously, noticing the crowd around us growing.

Ren looks back and forth between the table, Nora, and another hallway leading out of the room. He shifts so that Nora's positioned behind him and swiftly leans down, catching the back of her legs and pulling her into a piggy-back.

"You guys take over?" He pleads, nodding to the table.

I look over at the table, ignoring Cardin smirking at me from the other end. On our side, there are three cups lined up at the end, and on the other side there are four cups in the shape of a square.

I assume from the set up that they were playing a game of beer-pong, which I really don't know how to play. I've seen it in college movies before, so I feel like I might have some general idea for what's going on, but that doesn't mean I'll be any good at it.

I look up at Jaune hesitantly; he has the same conflicted look on his face. I hear a snicker from the other side of the table.

"Well, well, _well_ , would ya look at what the cat dragged in?"

I scrunch my face up to resist giving him a dirty look, and turn my attention back to my friends.

"Ah c'mon Red, I was just messin' with ya. The games almost over, why don't you join in so we can just finish this already."

I look between Cardin and a pleading Ren, also noticing the still growing amount of onlookers. Letting out a sigh, I place a hand on Ren's shoulder.

"Get her out of here. Jaune and I got this." I look over at the scraggly boy beside me. "Right, Jaune?"

He gulps and laughs nervously.

"Heh, yep totally…"

Ren gives us his thanks and walks off with Nora, now appearing to be asleep, on his back. Jaune and I take our positions at the front of the table across from Cardin.

I expect him to trash-talk me or make fun of me to an extent, but instead he gets a curious look on his face and glances around the room.

"Hey, Red… where's that White haired bitch you're normally following around?" He looks over at me and smirks. "Thought you woulda dragged her along with you."

 _I swear to god, if one more person mentions Weiss I'm going to lose it._

I feel the tips of my ears burn, out of embarrassment or anger, I'm not sure. However, something I _am_ sure about is that I don't want to lose, especially now, in front of all these people.

I grind my teeth together, trying not to make a scene.

"Are we gonna play or what?" I spit out, grabbing a ping-pong ball from one of the cups stacked on the side of the table.

I feel Jaune lean over next to me.

"Uh, Ruby, hate to tell you this - but I don't really know how to-"

"It's _easy_ ," Cardin cuts in from across the table, making us both jump. "You just throw the balls and aim 'em at the cups. If you miss you get nothing, if one of you makes it then one of us drinks, if both of you make it then both of us drink _and_ you get to throw again. Winner is the first team to get the opposing side down to zero cups."

 _Okay, that doesn't sound too hard…_

"I'll let you two pricks throw first, 'cause _damn_ is this gonna be a sad game."

Cardin's buddies all laugh and a few other people standing around the table laugh too. I start wondering how I got into the situation and how I want nothing more than to crawl under a rock right now.

Regardless of this, I force myself to stand straight as Jaune and I make our first throws. Unsurprisingly - we miss.

I overshoot mine and Jaune's bounces off the side of the table.

Cardin snorts at our pathetic attempt as his partner plucks two balls out of one of their cups on their side of the table, he hands one to Cardin. They both move to line up their shots and take turns throwing. Cardin makes his in, his friend misses.

Some of Cardin's friends that were standing behind him give the team a slap on their backs and start pushing each other around.

"Hope you can hold your liquor better than the hostess could, Red."

I grimace, peering over to look at the minimal amount of liquid in the cup. However, before I could grab it, Jaune sweeps the drink into his hand and downs it.

I blink in surprise, but Jaune just slams the cup back onto the table giving me a more confident look than earlier. Hearing Cardin sigh, I mouth my thanks at Jaune and we both grab another Ping-Pong ball.

I feel a little better throwing this time around, knowing that last time the throw was to forceful. I arched my arm less and take the shot.

I make it in. Jaune misses.

A few of the people standing around us whoop and someone from the onlookers jabbed my shoulder in a congratulatory fashion. Cardin just grumbles to himself a shoves the drink into his teammates hand.

The next two turns go by fast, seeing as both our teams miss each throw. Jaune and I are left with two cups while the other side has three.

When it's Cardin's turn again, he makes his shot and, again, his friend misses.

This time, I take the small amount of liquor and down it. It's bitter and almost makes me stick my tongue out in disgust, but I just ignore the taste and the slight buzz in the back of my head.

We only have one cup left and Cardin still has three. Before we take our shots, I lean over to Jaune and whisper in his ear.

"Close one of your eyes and aim for the cup on the left like you're trying to hit Cardin's stomach."

He gives a shaky nod and we both line up our throws. I close one eye and tilt my head slightly to the opposite direction I'm throwing in, I see Jaune do the same.

We both make it.

The crowd around us cheers and we get a few slaps on the backs from random people. I'm normally pretty skittish around contact from strangers, but in the moment, I found it boosting my confidence even more - enough to give Cardin a cocky grin.

Since we got both balls in we _both_ get another turn.

 _And there's only one cup left!_

I continue smirking at Cardin across the table, who has an unreadable look on his face. I then turn to look at Jaune, who's already looking over and smiling down at me, handing me a new ball.

"After you."

Turns out there was no 'after me'.

I make it in.

Everyone around us went ballistic. The sound of cheering was almost deafening - as it sounded like twenty people were screaming at once. I'm being thrown around and jostled by people I don't know and, right before I'm swallowed up into the celebrating mass of bodies, I see Cardin role his eyes and flip me the bird.

* * *

After all the fun and games, I'm left sitting outside by the bonfire. It's somewhere in the fifties tonight - so the comfy distance between me and the giant heat source, along with my cozy hoodie, is keeping me toasty.

I sit between Yang and Pyrrha, who have Blake and Velvet sitting on their sides respectively. We're all nestled in those foldable chairs you'd normally bring to a football game or something. I sit sideways in mine so that my legs dangle off of one of the arm rests and my back leans against the other.

Most of the party has died down by now. Everyone that's left - which is still a good handful of people - are outside hanging out by the fire.

Regardless of the chill atmosphere, my heartbeat still races a hundred miles a minute from the excitement of what happened earlier. I feel unexplainably excited for the first time in… well, _ever._ It feels like I'm some sort of superstar.

For the rest of the party people kept walking up to me, giving me high-fives, or just calling out to me. Most of them used the nickname Cardin referred to me as, Red. It could be worse - but I wouldn't say I hate the attention.

"Seriously, it was the _coolest_ thing ever!" I prod.

"Sure Sounds like it." Blake mumbles.

Yang chuckles in agreement.

"We could hear the yelling from out here. I don't think Blakey liked it."

Velvet leans over from where she's sitting, holding her hands out towards the fire to warm them.

"Now you're going to be known as the vice president _and_ the girl who beat Cardin Winchester at his own game. That's quite the feat." She says.

I smile triumphantly.

"Yeah, that Cardin is such a useless prick." Yang crosses her legs together with a huff of annoyance and leans forward in her chair.

"I wouldn't put it that way..." Pyrrha pitches in from her chair. "But it _is_ utterly atrocious to pick on kids weaker than you, which seems to be all he's capable of doing."

I still haven't told anyone about my run in with Cardin a week or so ago. It really doesn't seem that important and I don't want to anger anyone. So I'll just keep it to myself for now.

"Hey, Yang. Did we ever discuss what we're gonna be doing next in the council?" I ask, absentmindedly twirling one of my hoodie strings around my finger.

"I think Wei- I mean, I think we discussed running a football game or something…"

Blake chimed in to correct her. "Weiss said it's a basketball game next week."

Yang leans over and smacks Blake on the shoulder with the back of her hand, gaping at her.

"Ow?" Blake looks at her arm in confusion.

I squint my eyes at them suspiciously as Yang gives me a nervous smile.

"What?" I ask, knowing something seems amiss.

"Nothing!" Yang quickly says in the most unconvincing manor I've ever heard come out of her.

"No, What!?" I push indignantly.

Blake leans over and sets her chin in her hands, rolling her eyes.

"She told me not to mention Weiss around you, since you two have been fighting."

"Blake!" Yang complains.

"That's for hitting me." Blake shoots back at her.

I don't really say anything, continuing to twirl my hoodie string and stare into the fire. I should've known people would think the behavior was weird. Almost everyone at the party has said something about me and Weiss.

 _So that many people have realized it, huh?_

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Pyrrha glancing off somewhere in the distance, Velvet averts her gaze elsewhere.

"You know…" Pyrrha starts. "I think I saw Weiss earlier-"

"-Yeah, with _Neptune_." I cut her off.

The way I say 'Neptune' makes me sound like a brooding child and I immediately cringe at myself. I just can't stop myself from disliking the guy, even though we've never even had one conversation with each other.

"No, I was actually going to say I saw her sitting on the steps of the back porch not too long ago."

"Huh?" I feel my eyes go wide as I look over to the house.

The house is fairly near us but it's still a good ways away. I can see through the windows and the lights illuminating the inside, but since there are no lights on the porch, it looks pitch black. The only exception being the smallest flicker of a light that comes and goes so fast I'm pretty sure I imagined it.

As I sit upright in my chair, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look over at Yang who's giving me a solemn expression.

"You should talk to her, Ruby. If she's really your friend she'll listen. If she doesn't, she'll be hearing it from my fists soon enough, and you can quote me on that."

"Right..." I say, shakily standing from my chair.

I gulp as I get to my feet, starting to make my way past some people and over to the dark house. The excitement from earlier that made my heart pound is replaced by a new feeling that made it batter against my chest. _Fear._

As I get closer my eyes adjust a bit to the dark - and low and behold - a white figure appears through the darkness.

She's sitting on the top step of the back porch, her form is dimly lit only by the light leaking from the windows and the half-moon making its way across the night sky. Her hair is up in its usual side pony tail and, from what I can make out, she seems to have some small hair accessory that looked like a crown at the top of it.

She's wearing a modest dress; white with a blue lining you could only see because it shimmered across the seams of the clothing item. She also wears those signature high heels that makes her and inch or so taller than me.

Even in the dark, just a pure silhouette, she looks absolutely stunning.

As I cautiously near her, I watch her look up briefly. Seeing me approaching - she averts her gaze back down to her phone. I realize that her phone must be the source of the flickering light I saw on my way over.

I stop about five feet in front of her and tug anxiously on the neck hole of my hoodie. The temperature seems to have dropped the further away I got from the fire and I'm really starting to feel the cold now.

Weiss looks up again to meet my uncertain gaze with a half-hearted glare.

In an unsaid question between us, she just rolls her eyes and motions her head to the side, inviting me to sit down.

I graciously accept, my heart still pounding furiously in my chest, almost making me forget about the cold.

I sit down on the other side of the step she's sitting on. Looking over at her, I notice she's still typing on her phone.

"What're you typing?" I ask in a quiet voice.

An eyebrow is raised at me, but she doesn't look over at me, and she doesn't stop what she's doing either.

"So _now_ you're talking to me?"

Her words cut me like a knife. I might actually feel physical pain from them - hunching over momentarily and sucking in a breath to regain my bearings.

 _You're the one who caused this, Ruby. Fix it!_

I nervously take a deep breath and set my chin in my hands, looking up at the sky. Now that my eyes are thoroughly adjusted to the dark, I can see the stars much more clearly. There are millions of them - trillions - and they were all so far out of my reach.

Just like Weiss is right now, all because of these stupid feelings I have towards her.

There isn't really an easy way to break the ice at this point, and Weiss isn't exactly helping by staring at her phone, not that I would expect her to help anyways. I'm the one who caused this, who put us in the beyond awkward situation that I have no idea how to engage in.

I crane my neck to see above the edge of the roof until I spot something interesting.

"Hey, Weiss… can you see that star." I point to the brightest dot in the sky.

Weiss sighs - but to my surprise - she moves her gaze upwards. Seeing where I'm pointing, she only offers me a shrug.

"What about it?"

"It's called the North Star. It's the brightest star in the sky - but did you know it's actually two stars that orbit each other?"

She squints as she tries to pinpoint where I'm pointing.

"Why would I know that? I'm not some science geek, Ruby."

I flinch and watch a glimpse of regret form across her face before instantaneously disappearing back into her frown. With her posture stiff she looks back down to her phone, but her hands don't move across the screen. She gives an annoyed huff of air as she turns it off and sets it down next to her.

"What else you got?" She says, sounding bored.

I perk up and resist the urge to smile.

 _Now I'm getting somewhere…_

I crane my head out a little more, looking at the vast amount of twinkling orbs above me. Space isn't exactly my specialty when it comes to the subject, but I have a few things I remember from earth-space science back in middle school.

"Well, about every star we can see in our night sky is bigger, and brighter, than our sun."

Weiss seems skeptical, but continues looking at the sky with mild interest.

"Kind of puts things in perspective I guess." She concludes.

I nod and look around before I spot the next object I'm looking for.

"And did you know a full moon is nine times brighter than a half-moon, like it is right now." I eagerly point to the half-moon hanging in the sky. "Personally, the moon's my favorite part of space. I don't really know why - it's just neat how it looks so big to us - but in reality it's millions of times smaller than the stars around it that look like tiny specks! Cool, huh?"

Weiss doesn't say anything and, as I turn to look at her, I notice she's looking out in front of her and not at the sky anymore.

She has that _look_ again. _God,_ I hate that look. She looks so incredibly empty and lonely and it makes me want to strangle the me from a week ago that did this to her.

"You know, Ruby," She starts, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars."

I blink and tilt my head to the side.

"…The hell does that mean?"

Weiss swiftly turns her head to look at me and - against my will - I feel my cheeks heat up. Thankfully, I think the darkness covers it.

"It means _you_ , you _dolt_!" She hisses.

I rear myself back against the railing of the stairs, surprised by her outburst. She flails her hands in the air in an attempt to gesture at what she's trying to get at, but eventually she gives up and shoves her face into her hands.

"It's just…" She looks over at me, but instantly turns away, shaking her head. "Ruby, you're just so, so… _effortlessly_ yourself. Honest with everything you do and say, and people actually _like_ you for it. At the beginning of the year, when you were elected, I remember thinking to myself 'Wow, this girl doesn't give a crap what people think about her.' And as it turns out, I was right. Because you really _don't_ give a damn what people think about you - and I'm _jealous_ of that, Ruby."

Her words rocked me, leaving me speechless.

"I can't even _begin_ to comprehend what it must be like to not have to worry about things like your image, how people will view your family, how you have to look every single _god damn_ day." Weiss's voice gets softer, as she realizes it's been rising. "You're just one of the stars, Ruby. And I'm the moon, sitting in the public eye for all to see... I-I'm sorry if I was unfair to you - or if I upset you in any way - I just… I have a hard time dealing with people."

As soon as she finishes speaking she shoves her face back into hands.

I know I can't stay silent any longer; I bolt upright so I'm standing on the stairs. The loud, fumbling action makes Weiss look back up in questioning.

"That's not true _at all,_ Weiss!"

I feel my defenses breaking down and tears threatening to spill over my eyes.

"I-It was _me_ , Weiss! I was the one who- It was an accident- I didn't mean to- Okay, listen, it was _me_ who ignored you because I'm a grade-A asshat. It's _me_ who's in the wrong here, Weiss. You never did anything, _anything,_ wrong a-and _god_ you're just perfect. You're _perfect,_ Weiss. And this whole thing was my fault, not y-yours! I'm so, _so_ s-sorry."

I vigorously wipe my eyes with my sleeves. I start hiccuping over my words and Weiss motions for me to sit back down, so I do. She reaches into a little purse that's resting beside her and pulls out a handkerchief, handing it to me.

I wipe my eyes again and blow my nose into it while repeatedly whispering my apologies. Weiss attempts to shush me after a while and leans over to pat my head. I lean into her touch, nuzzling her hand, relishing the jolt of electricity I feel whenever she touches me.

I feel safe under her touch, and for the time being, I can even indulge myself into imagining it was a loving action.

She tucks a few bangs that were falling into my face behind my ears and ignores my whimpering as she pulls away.

I blow my nose one more time and try to hand her back the hanky, but she puts a hand up in a distasteful motion, telling me to keep it.

I nod and quietly thank her as I look out at the bonfire.

 _Well, this wasn't exactly how I imagined things going…_

I stealthily sneak a glance at Weiss, who's fidgeting absentmindedly with the hem of her dress. She doesn't seem mad at me, which was a good sign, but she also doesn't seem to be happy with me either.

I sniff and kick one of my sneakers on a loose board.

"So, where's Neptune?"

"What?" Weiss looks confused.

I shrug.

"A few people told me they saw you with him earlier, so I was just wondering…"

Weiss still looks a bit taken aback, proceeding to scrunch her face up cutely, like she's thinking.

"I'm unsure. I talked with him briefly earlier." She flips some bangs from her face, looking annoyed. "He's being very insistent on pursuing me, which makes him a lot _less_ pleasant to talk to these days."

I sniff again and feel unbidden hostility run though me.

"If he ever bothers you just let me know, 'kay?"

I see Weiss look me up and down out of the corner of her eye, making my face feel hot again.

"…Alright. Just don't go getting yourself hurt you dunce."

Once again, we fall into silence. It might be silent but - inside of my head - an internal battle is raging.

Like the moon pulling the tides to and from the shore, every nerve in my body argues back and forth whether or not I should say it. I know I need to say it, but every time the moment seems right the tides are there again, pushing and pulling, not finding that much needed solution.

Even if I have to swallow my pride and - quite possibly - my last piece of dignity - I realize that it needs to be said sooner or later. I might as well grab the bull by the horns just to get it out of the way, even if it means I'll look like a complete idiot.

"W-Weiss, if I tell you something will you promise not to get mad?"

"No."

"And that you'll still be my friend?"

"…No?"

Ignoring her answers, I take a deep breath to calm my nerves, which seemed like they could jump out of my body at any second. I stand up, hearing my heartbeat thundering in my chest so loud that I hope Weiss can't hear it.

I walk slowly down the few steps to the bottom of the stairs and position myself in front of Weiss.

She seems baffled as to what I was doing, but looks on with curious eyes. I stare back at her. Taking in her gaze, those deep blue irises, the small streak running down one of her eyes, something she looked at as an imperfection - but all I see in it is a girl who tries to hard just to be herself.

I think back to all the memorable times I've been with her. Weiss, laughing at something stupid I did. Those delicate hands, clutching onto the shoulders of my jacket as we ride down a hill on my bike, always accompanied by the familiar slap on the back or thump to my head as she yells at me afterwords.

The vulnerable Weiss that is scarcely shown to anyone, the one that I strive to protect with my whole, and willing, heart.

I absolutely adore the Weiss that gets all cutesy, blushing abashedly at unbidden complements and unexpected gestures of kindness shown to her. It always makes me want to be closer to her, more intimate with her.

The strong Weiss that walks around the hallways with her head held high, and that intimidating smirk locked in place. She might call it fake, but to me, all of Weiss's expressions make up who she is, the real her.

And the Weiss right now, with the moonlight casting a shadow that accentuated every curve of her body and every strand of hair on her head. She was lovely.

"Weiss…"

 _It's now or never._

"I think I like you."


	11. Enjoy the Little Things

**I Think I Like You - Weiss POV**

 **Chapter 11: Enjoy the Little Things**

"You _What?_ "

I watch as Ruby's lip quivers, her whole body rigid. She stands with her fists clenched tightly by her sides and undeniable trembling in her legs.

She looks petrified, yet she somehow manages to hold her stance, unyielding, and her eyes bore into mine, unwavering.

"I- I think I like you." She repeats, sounding slightly less timid than before.

I blink - and a lingering silence is drawn between us.

"…You _think_ you like me?"

Ruby meets my gaze and as soon as they lock on she dart her eyes away; I've noticed she does this a lot.

"Yeah?" she gives.

I cross my legs and gape at the girl standing in front of me.

"Is that a _question?_ "

"No?" She begins pulling anxiously on her baggy sleeves.

"Do you mean that platonically, or…?"

In the dark of the night I have a hard time making out the exact expression she is making. It's probably somewhere along the lines of embarrassment and pure ambiguity.

She has that doubtful look a lot, like she's uncomfortable with the way she acts or how she holds herself sometimes. Despite that, she still manages to speak her mind, like now, which is always something I have secretly envied of her.

For some reason, maybe the shock I'm in from what I'm currently being told, my mind feels blank.

Ruby feebly shakes her head at me.

"I mean like-like, like the _romantic_ kind of like."

"So, not platonic like?"

" _Weiss_." Ruby whines, holding her hands over her eyes to cover them. "Stop making me _say_ it, it's embarrassing."

"Oh, sorry."

I'm not entirely sure how to process the information I'm being told.

Ruby, whom I considered to be my closest companion as of late, is admitting her… affections for me?

Is that it? Is _that_ why she has been avoiding me like the plague for the past _week?_ I'm not quite sure what to think. I have never really thought of anyone in that way before.

Though, I don't take myself for a fool, and I'm not oblivious to my surroundings either. I've been asked out numerous times, all ending in the same pitiful way, since none really piqued my interest. I tend to focus on my schoolwork and my father's business rather than trivial things such as dating.

But, this case was glaringly different. This was Ruby.

It's not often I get taken by surprise like this; normally, I can see it coming from the moment someone takes any sort of interest in me.

 _Maybe it's because she's a girl?_

No, that can't be it. I'm very keen on noticing things like that, but I had never given it a thought that Ruby might be the type to swing that way.

"Weiss?"

I blink again and realize I must have been staring into space for much longer than necessary.

Ruby looks super nervous, that much is obvious just by looking at her stature. Her shoulders are slightly scrunched up, like she's trying to hide by curling in on herself, and her eyes are wide in questioning.

I open my mouth to speak, but close it again as I realize I have no idea what to say.

Ruby drops her gaze to the ground and starts kicking at some dirt with her sneakers.

"I'm sorry, Weiss. I didn't mean to make you feel u-uncomfortable or anything. I just… I wanted you to know I guess." She shrugs.

"No, no! Ruby, listen… I uhm…" I trail off awkwardly.

Although I don't want Ruby to feel even worse than she clearly looks, I just can't find the words to express myself. I have this problem a lot actually.

"I don't really know what to tell you…"

Ruby moves her gaze up at me, takes a deep breath, and lifts her head from the ground. She looks slightly less distraught compared to a few minutes ago, as though she gained some burst of new-found confidence.

"Look, you don't need to answer me right now." Ruby fixes her shoulders so she's standing up a bit straighter. "Just, whenever you're ready or whatever… tell me? I know you probably don't feel the same way, but I still want to be friends with you Weiss, regardless of what you say."

Ruby's confidence falters momentarily, and a borderline panicked look forms in her eyes.

"I-I mean unless you think I'm disgusting or s-something. I can just leave you alone if you really want me too."

My eyes soften and I stand up from the step I have been sitting on, dusting off my dress as I do so.

"Ruby, I don't think you're disgusting. I would never think that." I bite my lip after I speak. I know my face is probably flushed pink. It's been a curse ever since I was young, and it sure as hell isn't helping my case right now. "But, I'm pretty sure I do need some time to think."

I watch Ruby take a large gulp of air before she responds.

"Oh, o-of course!"

Ruby looks away from me again, not able to meet my eyes.

I take a moment to watch her features. The girl in front of me looks so unsure of herself. She's so afraid that the next words I might say could make her whole world come crashing down in a matter of seconds - and they probably could.

"Look, I'll see you Monday, okay?"

Ruby, still staring at anything besides me, sheepishly nods her head.

"Ruby." The tone I use calls for her full attention, and she composes herself once again, giving it to me willingly.

I feel an involuntary heat rise in my cheeks, and this time it's my turn to look away.

"T-Thank you. I'll be going now."

Ruby stares at me for a second before giving one of those signature coy smiles, assuring me she's okay.

I grab my purse off the step and hastily turn around.

As make my way through the backdoor I don't risk sparing a glance at Ruby. I was afraid it would make me want to stay.

* * *

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

I'm in one of the many bathrooms on the second floor of my house, standing on a footstool as I brush my teeth. As I look at myself in the mirror, I only grow even more aggravated with myself.

 _You should have said something - anything that would make Ruby not want to avoid you for another whole week!_

All things considered, this past week I've been so out of it.

I don't know when I had gotten so used to Ruby's mindless chatter about absolutely nothing, or just her presence being with me in general. Most of the time, I don't even have to do or say anything and she just comes running on her own accord.

When she stopped talking to me, I realized I had been taking that show of companionship for granted. I felt like I must have somehow been the one who caused it.

Well, at least now I know that wasn't the case.

I finish brushing my teeth and rinse my mouth out with some water before stepping down from the short stool I'm standing on. As I Leisurely make my way back to my room, my socks making a soft thumping noise that echoes off the empty walls in my house.

My family is still away at Schnee Bank Headquarters. They have been there for some time, and I don't think they have plans on coming back anytime soon, which is fine by me.

The less contact I have with my father, the better off my mental health is.

Opening the door to my room, I slip my way in and close the door shut behind me. I walk over to my vanity and grab my hairbrush off the corner to begin my nightly brushing session. Hair this shiny doesn't come naturally; it takes a lot of grooming to keep up my image. Not that I mind it too much, I'm quite fond of personal hygiene regardless.

I glide the brush through my slightly damp hair to start getting out the small tangles and knots.

 _I wonder what it's like to like someone._

I would be lying if I said I don't _want_ to feel that way about someone. Unfortunately, with such a tight schedule and the amount of work I have, I just don't see how it would be possible.

Of course, there have been countless opportunities for me in the past, but I've just never been able to understand people all that well. Sure, most of the time I can read them like an open book, Ruby being the easiest example, yet I feel like I still miss the most important important clues. Clues that would tell me she felt something like… _that_ towards me.

It's so frustrating and I don't get it.

Continuously dragging the brush through my hair, I reach a particularly hard knot, making me scowl.

I'm… just a girl.

Often, I get called pretty, yet I seldom believe their praise is genuine. The fact of the matter is that most people are either after my money or my family name, and rarely take interest in my actual personality, which drives me nuts.

I'm not always right, but I do hate admitting when I'm wrong. Maybe it's a complex I developed when I was younger - come to think of it - it probably is. When I did do something wrong, father would often look down on me or tell me he was disappointed. I used to hate seeing that look on his face, but now I just hate seeing his _face_.

When I'm out in public, I try to put on as confident of a face as I can muster, making me not to be feared, but respected. A force to be reckoned with, if you will. Sadly, even if that look is present, it's not always authentic.

People tend to think they can read _me_ like an open book; that much is obvious when visiting my father's banquets and everyone there sees my academics and musical achievements as my entire being. That being said, I oftentimes feel as though I hide so much. Only god knows what would come to my family if the reality of my condition were to get out.

I try to fix any problems in my path, any issues I'm faced with head on; I've learned that it's easier that way. But, I feel like I often don't deserve my praise for these acts.

And I most certainty haven't done _anything_ to deserve the loyalty and adoration Ruby has shown me.

She is undeniably childish and the most naïve person I have ever met. She's unreasonable and unpredictable at times, almost like a landmine, where if you step on it the wrong way, it could go off.

However, despite all of that, she can be surprisingly comforting. She more often than not knows what to say at just the right time to make me feel better.

She's endearing in a way that somehow makes her shine. I can always spot her in a crowd of people because it's like her honest personality just… glows.

It's obvious to me now that she's cared for me since the beginning, since she found me in that bathroom. Why she cares, well, I'm honestly still not sure about that.

I'll admit I can be difficult and maybe a little bossy when we really need to get things done. Yet, she somehow manages to look past all of that. Ruby is _more_ than willing to look past my worst faults, keep my biggest secret, and ask for nothing in return other than my companionship.

I stop running the brush through my hair and set it down on the vanity in front of me. I might not have come to any conclusions tonight, but there is one thing I am certain about.

When you find someone who is willing to stick by you, regardless of how difficult you are, you keep them. You keep them because finding someone who cares enough to look past your flaws isn't something that happens every day.

* * *

I call one of my drivers to drop me off at school Monday morning.

Sometimes I walk, but for the most part I prefer to relax and take it slow so early in the day. I'm not particularly amorning person either, unlike a certain someone I know.

As I exit the black SUV and give a thanks to my driver, I notice a certain brunette waiting anxiously in front of the schools entrance.

Ruby squints her eyes over in my direction, and through the crowd of students entering, I watch her give a shy wave.

I feel an uninvited blush creeping its way up my face and give a stiff nod back.

 _Goddammit, why am I the flustered one!?_

I'm surprised to see her waiting for me, not that I'm complaining, it's better than her avoiding me again.

As I near her she pushes herself off the gate, falling into step beside me. She's wearing her usual uniform and her hair looks like its usual short and scruffy mess. She's also gripping her poor backpack's straps so tight you would've thought she's trying to suffocate them.

"Good morning, Weiss."

"Hello."

I thought there would be some sort of awkward air between us, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I find myself comforted by her presence, relieved that I won't have to relive last week.

"D-Did you have a good weekend?" She asks.

Her stutter doesn't go unnoticed, and even though it makes my face heat up even more, I decided I'll let it slide.

"It was fine. I caught up on some work and did some of my history project."

We start walking up the stairs of the school. I'm planning on going to my locker before classes start. I'm not quite sure where Ruby is heading though, since her locker is in the opposite direction, so I just let her follow me.

I see her tilt her head slightly.

"Do you ever do anything… I dunno, fun?"

That earns her a thump on the forehead.

"Owie! Hey, that's not fair! It was a legitimate question." She whines.

"And you're a legitimate _dunce._ "

We push through the front doors and enter the halls. When we enter the main hallway, Ruby speeds up her pace, so that she's in front of me, and turns herself around so she's also walking backwards.

"C'mon Weiss, seriously, what do you do for fun?"

I think for a moment.

"Hmm, read? Watch television? What any normal person does I guess."

Ruby's eyes light up and she beams at me.

"Really? What's your favorite show? I've got a few suggestions I think you might like."

I shake my head, showing how little I care for the subject.

I actually rarely watch television. Normally, I spend my day organizing notes and working on business related projects, but if I had said that I know Ruby would probably call me _lame_ or one of her other juvenile terms.

"I don't know, Ruby. Please turn yourself around, you're going to fall walking like that."

She ignores me and continues her unsteady strides backwards.

"How about books, hmm? Your favorite book?"

"Ruby, please turn around."

"Aww, Weissy's concerned for my safety?" she mocks.

"Ruby, serio-"

 _Bang!_

"Oof."

Ruby runs smack into a pole positioned in the middle of the hallway. The back of her head hits it with a loud clang and a few students standing around us turn their attention toward the noise.

She rubs the back of her head and groans. I watch for a second to make sure she's okay before figuring I should make my exit. I hate being the center of attention.

Ruby glances up at me, looking embarrassed, and I decide I won't make this too painful for her.

Walking past her, I offer an overly sarcastic pat on the shoulder.

"I'll see you later."

* * *

It's now the last period of the day, science class.

After this period we have our meeting, and according to Mrs. Goodwitch there's something special in store for us today. Knowing the vice principal, it's probably either filing some papers as usual or cleaning out some old classroom.

It's weird, I feel like I've been on edge all day. Ruby's been acting close to normal, which _isn't_ normal.

I mean, she told me she liked me just this weekend didn't she? Shouldn't she be acting all shy and nervous like she usually acts?

Yet, for some reason, it seemed to be the exact opposite of that. Ruby seemed more confident; I would even go as far as to say cocky. It's almost as if telling me her feelings triggered something that made her act bolder.

And honestly… I kind of like it.

Even if most of her attempts get her the same results as this morning, ending with her looking stupid or somehow second guessing her right to talk to me in certain ways, it's been kind of humorous watching her attempts at breaking the ice.

Everything she does is so earnest and just, well, _Ruby_. It's hard to take her seriously when she messes up every not-so-subtle flirting technique found on Wikipedia.

I click the back of my heels against the floor, a habit I developed when I'm spacing out. Usually, I don't let my mind wonder so much, but all day it feels like it's been preoccupied elsewhere.

Resting my elbow onto my desk, I place my chin in my hand, only halfway listening to Mr. Ooblecks lecture. I bite my lip and spare a glance at the girl a few rows over. To my surprise, I find her already peeking at me from her desk.

As soon as our eyes meet we both look away. Ruby blushes furiously at being caught staring.

A few seconds later I slowly lift my gaze back over to her and I notice she does the same.

We share a smile.

* * *

I set my backpack down on the floor, right next to my chair positioned at the head of the table. The student resource room isn't too far from my last classroom, so Ruby and I are generally some of the first people there.

However, today Blake and Yang have come in a bit early. Yang is sitting in her normal spot playing some game on her phone, and Blake is propped up on the counter near the filing cabinets, going through some papers.

I grab the student council binder off its designated spot on the shelf and as I pick it up, I notice there is a loose paper sticking out of the top.

When I bring it back over and set it on the table Ruby immediately takes interest.

"Ooh, what's that?"

I give her a slight hum to indicate I didn't know what it was either. I sit down and open the front cover, picking up the few pages of stapled paper neatly laid out.

Ruby practically breathes over my neck as I try to read through the mysterious pages. I try rolling my shoulder a few times to shrug her off, making her squint her eyes at me and slowly back away. She crosses her arms over her chest and slides down in her chair, pouting at me while doing so.

 _Honestly, how childish can she be?_

I sigh and rub my temple with one hand.

"They're just our assignments for the basketball game later this week. I think Mrs. Goodwitch must have dropped them off."

Ruby's face lights up.

"Really? That's so cool, I wanna see!"

She tries to snatch the paper from my hand, but I rear myself back before she can get it.

"I'll announce it once everyone gets here. Surely you can wait just five more minutes."

She lets out a disappointed whine and places her chin on the edge of the table, pouting again.

"Aww, it's so sweet to see you two back to normal!" Yang decides to chime in, having looked up from her phone.

I roll my eyes and focus my attention back on reading the sheet in front of me. Ruby's eyes widen and she gets a slightly irritated expression on her face.

"Yang!"

Yang holds her hands up in mock surrender, letting out a slight chuckle.

"What? This is good for me too, you know. Now I don't have to watch you mope around anymore."

"Y-Yang!" Ruby's voice seems to rise a few octaves.

"She has a point." Blake quietly chimes in from where she's sitting.

Ruby's face turns bright red and Yang bursts out laughing.

"Blake you're not helping!" Ruby complains, nervously glancing in my direction.

I just shake my head slightly and try to ignore the commotion going on around me, instead trying to focus on filling out the attendance sheet. Over the years, I've gotten better at tuning things out. Anything that doesn't require my immediate attention isn't a priority, and this pointless talk about my current status with Ruby certainly qualifies for that.

The other members soon enter and I check off their names as they do. I notice when Ren enters he's alone, which is odd because he's normally with Nora. He doesn't say anything as he comes in, just sets his bag down and slides into his chair like usual.

Still ignoring Ruby and Yang's bickering, I decide to question him.

"No Nora?"

"Nope." He shakes his head.

"How come? Is she alright?"

Ren rubs the back of his neck hesitantly.

"Well… you saw her at the party."

"That was three days ago." I raise an eyebrow.

"I know."

I give him an understanding look and cross her name off the list. It was obvious from the moment I had stepped into her kitchen during the party that the drinks had been tampered with. It's a shame Nora was too wasted to enjoy her own party. I've never understood the appeal of alcohol, all it does is make you act like an absolute imbecile.

I decide it's time to start the meeting, so I stand up in my chair and clear my throat.

The sisters bickering stops, ending with Ruby sticking her tongue out before sitting back down in her chair. Everyone turns to me and I take a deep breath, picking up the papers in front of me as I do so.

"Mrs. Goodwitch has informed us of our positions during the game this week." I flip to the second page of the packet. "Apparently, not all of us are needed, but she has most of us doing something or the other before the game."

I look up and everyone nods excitedly. This is one of the more fun events we get to work during the year. Pyrrha leans over and waves her hand slightly, I make a motion for her to speak.

"Do we know what the mid-year event will be yet?"

I scrunch up my nose and silently debate in my head.

I have been keeping that information a secret for a while now, so maybe it's time to let them know. Even if it is a while off, the mid-year event is always something fun the council gets to work on for a few months before Christmas break.

Last year we put on a play that brought a lot of money to the school, and the year before that we had students sign up for a trip to a theme park the school had rented out.

"I guess now is as good a time as any to reveal the event." I say.

Eager eyes all look my direction. I push my shoulders back and let my eyes slowly move across the members, who are watching me expectantly.

"This year the student council is proud to be presenting a music festival." Everyone's eyes widen and I can see the anticipation in their faces. "It will be hosted at the school and we are going to be in charge of getting everything prepared and advertised."

There is some excited murmuring among the members and I realized we have been getting off topic. I clear my throat again.

"Anyways, our assignments for our current event are as follows: before the game all of us, except for Pyrrha and Jaune, will be handing out tickets at the entrance. The two I called out are to be managing the table where people will be buying the tickets."

Blake pipes up from the back counter where she's still sitting.

"I don't mean to be _that_ person, but you do remember the last time we let Jaune help with the money, right?"

I do remember, causing me to re-think the arrangement almost instantly.

"Hey," Pyrrha interjects. "I think we all know accidents happen. He simply dropped the bag at the wrong time is all."

Blake looks skeptical.

"He literally dropped over four hundred dollars down a flight of stairs."

Everyone turns to the boy in question, who's sitting at the end of the table. He sighs and hangs his head into his hand.

"She's not wrong."

I decide I'll switch Jaune's position at the beginning of the game with mine and move onto the next part of the event.

"Okay, during the event even less people are needed. We'll have me and Ruby standing at the entrance during the game for anyone who comes in late and Yang and Blake will help supervise inside." I scan the paper making sure I covered everything. "I think that's it, any questions?"

I spend the rest of the meeting answering the members various questions and going over more specifics of what we'll be doing.

Meetings like these are always tiring and everyone is exhausted by the end of it. Even after I dismiss everyone, I can feel a heavy fatigue hanging in the air. Although I will admit some of it might be from me thinking too much today, and not just from the events of the meeting.

When I dismiss everyone, Ruby makes sure to tell me goodbye.

She seems to have regressed back to her normal awkward self and not some cocky know-it-all.

We stare at each other for what feels like a moment longer than necessary. Those wide grey eyes I felt so familiar with look at me with unspoken words. Words that can't paint a clearer picture of what she is feeling than what her expression shows me.

The moment is interrupted when Yang calls for her from the hallway, snapping us out of a trance. She abashedly makes her exit, leaving me alone in the resource room.

I stare at the door after it closes behind her - and from somewhere deep, _deep,_ inside of me - I feel an ache.

 _I'm really losing it aren't I?_


	12. More Than You Know

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 12: More Than You Know**

Today is Friday; it also happens to be the day I get to sit outside for three hours handing out tickets for a game I don't even get to watch.

Everyone's been saying the basketball game is one of the 'best' events we get to run during the entire school year, but then again, not _everyone_ is forced to stand outside while the game is going on.

I sigh and lean back in the fold-out chair I'm sitting in.

The game will be starting in about two hours and everyone's getting ready for the opening. I sit towards the end of our table, just outside of the gym's side entrance that faces the parking lot. Blake and Yang are sitting on either side of me and all three of us are busy rolling up the tickets that we're going to start passing out in an hour or so.

I look out towards the parking lot, where Ren and Pyrrha are helping move equipment off of a sizable white truck for the away team. From where I'm sitting I can spot the sun setting behind them and I crane my neck to get a better look.

It's not as oppressively hot as it was the day we supervised the chalk-walk because this event is closer to the evening. Judging by how fast the sun is sinking beneath the tree line it would be dark not to long from now, so I guess it's a good thing we're already setting up for the game.

Weiss had decided to let Nora sit this one out. She had come back to school during the middle of the week, assumedly all better, but Weiss still refused to let her participate. She claimed it was for 'precautionary measures' but I think she was just concerned for Nora and didn't want to admit it.

I roll my shoulders, attempting to get out the cramps I keep getting from sitting hunched over these tickets for so long. I wince when I hear a popping sound from my back and look back down towards the sidewalk, where my heap of tangled red admission tickets were.

Since I was about halfway done I start struggling to wrap the uncooperative links of paper around the small plastic center. I frown as the piece I'm trying to wrap around continuously slips off the side, making me let out a huff of air in frustration.

"This whole ticket thing is really dumb." I say. "Why couldn't we get pre-rolled tickets or something?"

Blake shrugs, not even bothering to look up at me.

"These were less expensive. Our budget isn't exactly the best if you haven't noticed."

I groan, but continue to roll the thin sheets of paper.

"Aren't high school basketball games supposed to be free though?"

Giving up on my task, I take to looking out towards the parking lot again, where Ren and Pyrrha continue to unload the truck.

"Were you even listening on Monday?" Yang exclaims from the other side of the table. "This game is going to raise money for one of our school's sponsor's. It's a promotional event between two of the best sports teams in town, who _wouldn't_ pay to see it?"

"Doesn't matter," I grumble, folding my arms across my chest. "I won't get to see it either way."

Yang brushed off my comment with the turn of her head as she continues to cycle her roll of tickets. I take to watching the cars enter the parking lot as they drop off students. I see one kid that's so tall he has to duck while getting out of his car door; the sight is humorous enough to make me snicker to myself.

"Not my fault you got stuck with the president, Rubes."

I stop my quiet chuckles and feel myself stiffen. I give an indistinguishable breath of air as I shove my hands into the pockets of my jeans and sink lower into my seat.

"That's not the issue! I just wanna watch, so why do we have to stand outside the whole game?"

"I dunno." Yang rubs the back of her neck. "I just know Weiss was getting all haughty about it earlier, so I wouldn't try to argue."

"She does seem to be in a mood today." Blake mutters from the other end of the table, not bothering to look up from a book she was reading.

Yang finishes rolling up her tickets and rakes a hand through her hair, causing her blonde curls to bunch up slightly at the top of her head.

"C'mon Blake, when's the pres _not_ in a mood."

Having finished her roll of tickets some time ago, Blake drums her fingers on the table in an unsteady rhythm. She was clearly uninterested and just looks up to give Yang a stern look before shifting her gaze to me.

"At least you don't have to be stuck with _this_ one the whole game." She says. "A girl can only take so many basketball related puns in one night."

I giggle at the knowing eyebrow Blake raises at me, and from the gasp of shock across the table.

"Hey!" Yang says, feigning a hurt look as she places a hand across her chest. "I'll have you know I'm _great_ company, thank you very much. It's not every day you find someone with this good of looks _and_ a great sense of humor."

The two of them start going back and forth about the… credibility of Yang's jokes. I feel myself grin as I watch their jeering. However, a bright flash and a small ' _click'_ makes the three of us pause, momentarily confused. We whip our heads around the table, searching for the cause of the noise, before spotting the culprit a few yards away.

Standing on the sidewalk behind our table, leaning forward slightly and holding an expensive looking digital camera up to her eyes stands Penny. She smiles as she pulls the shiny equipment away from her face to look down at it.

"Penny? What're you doing here?" I ask with obvious confusion in my voice.

The red-head walks over to the table and flips the camera hanging around her neck towards us so we're able to see the image on it.

"Pretty good shot don't you think?" She chirps excitedly.

I squint at the small screen to see the picture of the three of us sitting at the table. It was a good shot, but I was still wondering what Penny was doing here in the first place. We didn't expect people to start showing up until the next half hour.

"I think it's great!" Yang says, leaning over the table to get a better look.

Blake even spares a glance from her book to look at the picture, but she just shrugs.

"I guess it's good," I say. "but why'd you take it?"

Penny lets out one of her high pitched chuckles and boops my nose in amusement, causing me to cock my head to the side.

"Because silly, did you forget I was in Yearbook?"

I wouldn't say that I forgot Penny was also part of a club; It's more like it just slipped my mind. I feel like I've been so busy with my own stuff lately I hadn't really seen her much. The thought made me frown; Penny was my best friend and I feel like I've barely seen her at all in the past few weeks, except for in class, which I don't really count anyways since we can't talk to each other much then.

"I didn't forget!" I pipe up.

"You're in yearbook?" Yang says with envy. "Damn, that's a cool gig. Way better than doing this crap." She motions to my pile of half unrolled tickets, causing me to glare at her.

Penny nods her agreement while pulling the camera back and messing with some of the buttons.

"Yes, it's a lot of work, but it's always rewarding to see the final project at the end of the year." She says, moving a finger off her camera to point at us.

If that's the case, then I guess our clubs weren't that far off. It's like every time we have to do an event, or file some papers, or even do the budgeting for the office, there's this strange sense of accomplishment. In my opinion, it's one of the best upsides of working in the council, or any club for that matter.

Penny and I chat for a few minutes, catching up with each other, until I hear footsteps approaching from behind me.

I turn around to see Pyrrha approaching with a big metal box in her hand that has a clunky lock on it. She walks around Blake and sets the hefty object down on the table, making a loud clanging sound reverberate off its surface.

"The hell is that?" Yang questions with raised eyebrows.

Pyrrha wipes some sweat off her brow with the back of her arm and dusts off her shirt.

"It's what we use to hold the money. There should be people showing up soon, so I'd finish wrapping those if I were you, Ruby."

She eyes my half rolled pile of tickets on the ground and I groan.

"Ugh, it's so hard though. Can't I just stack them or something?"

"Hmm, I guess you could, but Weiss has been kind of irritable today. She was arguing with someone on the phone earlier and it seemed to be getting pretty heated, so I wouldn't try to pull any impromptu changes if I were you." Pyrrha gives me an apologetic look.

My eyes widen and I feel my posture wither slightly.

"Do you know who she was talking to?" I ask, most likely already knowing the answer to the question.

Pyrrha shakes her head and walks around the table.

"We're going to be starting soon. You three will be handing out tickets at the side entrance while the rest of us will be up front." She pauses for a moment, looking over at Penny. "If you want to get some pre-game pictures, the players are all inside."

Penny gives a mock salute and Pyrrha makes her way back to the front of the gym.

"Oh, I got one!" Yang suddenly blurts out from across the table, snapping her fingers together.

We all pivoted and give her puzzled expressions.

"Got what?" Blake asks.

Yang gets a smug look on her face and leans back in her chair, propping her boots up on the table as she did.

"What does a basketball player say when he misses?"

I roll my eyes and pick my roll of tickets up off the ground, not waiting to hear an answer. Blake stares at my sister with a deadpan look before moving her eyes back down to her book.

Unfortunately, Penny isn't used to Yang's sad attempt at humor and eggs her on by asking what. Yang forms a wicked grin.

"Ah, shoot!"

There's a collective groan that could be heard even at the front of the school.

* * *

People started showing up by the dozens. There were a lot of over-hyped high school kids with face paint and clothes that had mismatched school colors on them; there were also families with kids young enough to be in strollers, some older couples, and there was even one school bus of what looked like middle schoolers.

Yang, Blake, and I had easily been able to keep up with the mass of people at first. It wasn't until the line started to resemble more of an aggregated group than an actual line that we started having trouble.

Luckily, Weiss had taken the liberty to come check on us from her position at the front of the school and when she saw the mess of people, she started shouting orders at them to conform into a line if they actually wanted to watch them game in a timely manner.

There were grumbles to be heard among the families and rowdy high school kids, but once they actually started listening things sped up a lot. Weiss's irritable yelling helped out big time, well, for the others at least.

I'd been trying my hardest to keep my mind off of the girl. It seemed like every time Weiss is near me, or just randomly pops into my thoughts, which happens a lot nowadays, I basically turn into one of two things: A total bumbling mess that can't even think straight, or just completely zoned out altogether.

Should watching the girl you like belting out orders to a group of strangers be considered hot? I honestly don't know, but it yields the same effect on me anyways.

After everything got handled, Weiss did eventually go back to her position at the front of the school. I let out a sigh of relief that I was now able to focus on my task without a certain white-haired distraction taking my train of thought every few seconds.

I actually got called out to quite a lot by some of the people entering. Most of them used the nickname Red, which was given to me at Nora's party this past weekend. I was honestly surprised by the amount of attention I got during the week as well; strangers calling out to me in the schools halls, random people offering me fist bumps on my way to class. It was all very surreal.

By the time the crowd started to die down, my sloppy roll of tickets was about half of what it was originally. Yang took over the last remaining groups, while Blake and I walked over to Pyrrha, who sat at our table off to the side. She was as sweaty as we were and vigorously counting money while typing something into a calculator.

As we reach the table she doesn't look up at us and we don't say anything to her that might break her focus.

Blake looks over at a streetlamp that just flickered on. It was now the only source of light keeping the area lit as the sun has long since disappeared under the tree line.

" _That,_ " She begins, letting out a long breath of air. "was probably the most stressful thing I've done all year."

I tiredly nod in agreement, letting out a long sigh of relief and stretching my arms above my head.

Even though it's dark, I can see my breath reach the chilled air, dissipating into the atmosphere as it rises. I just wished I could feel the air as well; Sweating for the past hour made me feel all hot and fatigued for some reason.

Pyrrha types something else into her calculator and her eyes widen.

"Oh my…"

We give her a questioning look and she turns the device towards us. Our eyes widen as well.

"Holy shit!" I hear the cheer from behind us.

Both Blake and I are instantly taken by the shoulders into a surprise hug. My sister squeezes us and looks excitedly down at the numbers being displayed.

"That's a _lot_ of zeroes." Yang says.

"This isn't even including the amount that was gathered at the front entrance." Pyrrha mumbles.

We all smile at each other and as if on cue, Penny exits from the hefty set of double doors that leads into the gym. She's looking down at her camera, seemingly not even paying attention to where she's going, but somehow maneuvers her way towards us without much difficulty.

"I got some amazing shots in there you guys! And the game hasn't even started yet!" She squeals excitedly. "How did things go out here? I tried to snap a few pictures at the front, but it was too chaotic for me to get any good ones."

"It would've been the same story here." I say, trying to shrug myself out of Yang's embrace.

Blake pushes herself out of Yang's hold as well and pulls her phone from her pocket to look at the time.

"Well, it should be starting soon, why don't we head inside?"

Yang crosses her arms together and lets out a hum of agreement. Pyrrha puts her calculator into her bag, which is hanging across the back of her chair, and closes the thick metal box so she can put a lock on it.

"I need to bring this to the front of the school. I'll meet up with you all momentarily." She says.

Yang, Blake, and Penny all start making their way inside. Yang turns back around to give me and Pyrrha a wave.

"Have fun with the pres, Ruby! We'll save you a seat, Pyrrha!"

They disappear into the double doors and Pyrrha stands to leave, swinging her bag over her shoulders and picking up the hefty box.

"I'll go get Weiss." she says. "Just stand near the doors in case any stragglers come by."

I nod and make my way over to the set of doors as Pyrrha disappears around the corner.

From inside the building I hear loud buzzing and an announcer that starts rolling off the names of what I presume to be the players. People start cheering and music starts blaring from the inside of the gymnasium.

I take a cautious step away from the doors and roam my eyes over the parking lot. Even though it was dark, it didn't seem like anyone else was pulling in, or walking up. I really didn't see the need for me to sit out here the entire game. I get that it's a paid entry event, so we can't just let people walk in, but I still find myself pouting in annoyance, sliding myself down the brick exterior until I hit the ground.

Not only do I have to sit out here and watch people come in late the entire game, but I _also_ have to do it with the girl that's been making my head spin in circles this past week.

I run a hand through my messy hair and feel that invisible force pulling at my heart again, making it beat unsteadily.

I squeeze my eyes shut and vigorously shake my head.

 _Get your mind out of the gutter, Ruby._

After my confession at Nora's party I had berated myself the rest of the night, thinking things like: _you forced yourself on her, of course she doesn't want to date you, she was trying to let you down easy, how could you ever think she would actually like you back, stupid, stupid, stupid._

I still doubt myself. Weiss is just being generous; she's never actually going to think of me like that.

My heart clenches and I grit my teeth, pulling my legs closer to my chest.

This is why I've been trying to avoid thinking about this. I know these were all just hyperboles of what the actual scenario was.

The only thing that made me somewhat optimistic was when she told me she'd think about it.

It gave me the smallest glimmer of hope. Like dropping a dime in one of those huge fountains, or entering the lottery along with millions of other people, the chances of you wish actually coming true was one in a million, but still you hold onto that small gleam of hope, that light at the end of a dark tunnel because you want to believe so bad it'll come true.

So that's what I'm doing, holding onto that voice in the back of my head that tells me it could come true.

I hear faint footsteps approaching around the corner and sit myself up slightly.

Weiss appears around the curve of the building, fixing her ponytail with an irritated look on her face. She's still in her school uniform, except she didn't have her jacket on, leaving her in a plain white collared shirt and her plaid skirt.

She looks over at me and scowls, making my eyes widen as I look away.

"Ruby Rose, get up this instant. I can't have someone walk over here and see you sitting on the job, it sets a bad example."

"Ah, right! Sorry!"

I frantically stand, almost tripping over my sneakers, and give her a nervous smile. Weiss stops on the other side of the doorway and sets her hands on her hips, the glare still not leaving her face.

"And why, might I ask, are you not in uniform?"

I look down at my red-black striped shirt and my jeans. It never occurred to me that I would have to wear my uniform to this event and no one had mentioned it either.

I timidly look back at the irked blue irises.

"Sorry, I guess I wasn't really thinking about it."

"Well, you should _start_ thinking about it." She humphs and stands with her back towards the wall.

I do the same, but instead of facing forward I look towards the ground reluctantly.

"It's a good thing it's so dark outside then, no one can really see me that well."

Weiss just places two fingers on the bridge of her nose and shakes her head.

"That's not the point, Ruby." She pauses and looks out toward the parking lot. "There are people coming. Get your tickets ready you dunce."

I see the group she's talking about and scramble to pick my tickets off the ground. It's a group of what looks like four students. The guy in the front hands me a twenty and I pocket it before giving him four tickets. Weiss opens the door for them and I assume the exchange is over, until one of the guys towards the back looks over at me.

"Hey, it's Red! That was a sick game last weekend!"

One of the guys in the front has a moment of realization and sticks a fist out for me to fist bump.

"Hell yeah it was, you really put Cardin in his place."

I nervously laugh and fist bump the guy back. They continue walking in and the student that called me out from the back of the group gives me a slap on the shoulder and a thumbs up as he passes.

As soon as the door closes behind them, I hear Weiss scoff.

"I can't believe people are still calling you by that ridiculous name." She says.

I shrug and roll my shoulder that one of the students hit.

"I don't really mind. It was a good win though, you should've seen it, Weiss."

Weiss leans back against the brick wall and crosses her arms.

"I don't think I would get much pleasure out of watching a childish game of ping-pong."

"It's called beer-pong, Weiss."

"Oh _great_ , under aged drinking's involved as well, even _better_."

She lets out a sigh and hangs her head slightly towards the ground. Since the only light I have is the streetlamps lining the parking lot, it's hard to distinguish Weiss's features. Despite that, I can still see her slightly slouched posture and distracted gaze that was only half covered by the bangs falling in her eyes.

From inside the gym I can still hear the faint sound of music and the occasional whooping of the crowd. Loud buzzers also reach my ears each time one of teams makes a goal.

I gulp and rub the back of my neck.

"Hey, Weiss…" I question in a quiet voice. "Are you doing okay?"

I see her flinch and when she looks over at me she straightens her posture back to its normal stature. She opens her mouth as though she was about to say something, but quickly shuts it again and grimaces. Even though it was kind of cold outside, I watch as a drip of sweat falls from her brow.

"Ruby, I-I don't want to lie to you…" She runs a hand through her bangs, but stops, and instead clutches the silky strands into her fist. "I haven't been feeling too w-well, but I think… I think I'm fine."

A concerned look grows on my face. I want nothing more than to cross the few yards between us and comfort her, but something stops me. She might not want me here right now, might not want me to watch this.

 _She probably wishes you would just leave._

I feel a pang in my chest that makes me feel nauseous. I stay rooted where I am, silently hoping she would be okay.

"Pyrrha said you were on the phone earlier… was it, uhm…"

"My father?" Weiss finishes, laughing bitterly. "Yes, it was. I really shouldn't be so swayed by him. I should know that what I'm doing is beneficial to our school and not some waste of time… but, still."

She finally gives in and I watch as she slides her back along the brick wall, until she's sitting on the ground.

"It still hurts to hear it…" She trails off and puts her head between her legs.

I reluctantly make my way over to her and place a hand on her shivering shoulder. I don't think she's shivering because of the cold.

I push the hair from her ponytail back behind her and use my other hand to rub circles on her back. Her hair still feels soft, like threads, and as I move my hand in circles some of it gets caught in the motion. Weiss starts to sway and I bite my lip, hoping I wasn't pushing my boundaries.

I look around the area. I didn't see anyone, but I didn't want to push my luck either. I lean protectively over Weiss as I lean down to whisper in her ear.

"Where's your bag, Weiss?"

She shakes her head and I feel her breathing become even more unsteady.

"Didn't… bring it." She rasps out.

I silently curse inside my head as I continue rubbing circles on her back.

 _Come on, Ruby, think! Where on campus would there be medicine?_

I almost smack my forehead for being so dumb, the nurse's office of course.

I know the main one for the school must be closed, but I know the gym has its own separate office towards the back of the school.

I hesitantly stop my soothing motions on her back and reposition myself so that I'm crouching down in front of Weiss. I turn myself around and pat one of her knees with my hand.

"Hop on, Weiss. I'm going to get you help."

She doesn't move from her embrace so I grasp one of her hands and bring it up to my shoulder, to my surprise, Weiss's other hand followed in suit. She clutched around my neck and buried her face into my shoulder. As I stand up, I grab each of her legs to keep us steady.

I try to ignore the closeness and Weiss's hot, ragged breath on my neck as I jog around the back of the school. As I round the corner and the streetlights start to fade I realize there's almost no source of light left. It takes my eyes a moment to adjust to the dark, but once they do I spot the door I'm looking for.

 _Please don't be locked._

I put my hand on the metal handle and hear the most relieving _click_ I've probably ever heard in my life.

I swing the door open and enter the dark room. My eyes could still see pretty well in the dark so I walk over to the nearest bed and ease Weiss down onto it. She doesn't seem to want to let go of my neck so I end up having to practically pry her off.

I run my hand along the wall of the small room until I feel a light switch. I flick them on and Weiss and I both flinch at the brightness.

The room is small, no bigger than one of our three-stall bathrooms and there's only two small beds lining the walls. The other side of the room has a row of cabinets, some locked, some unlocked, that were full of all sorts of supplies.

I can hear the noise from the game even louder in here and I hope it doesn't freak Weiss out. I look over at her and see she's still just sitting on the edge of the bed with her face in her hands, rocking slightly.

My shoes squeak on the cheaply tiled floor as I make my way over to the cabinets. I practically slam open all the ones that are unlocked and sift through them to find no pill bottles whatsoever. All I find is gauze, weird medical instruments and some paperwork. I growl in frustration as I peer into some of the locked cabinets. Of course, those would be the containers that have what I need in them, what _Weiss_ needs.

I frown and clench my fist on the counter.

I dejectedly walk over to Weiss and return a hand to her back, rubbing it in circles.

"I can probably go find a teacher or someone with keys, maybe a coach…" I trail off.

Weiss shakes her head, but this time actually takes it out of her hands and looks across the room.

"It's fine, Ruby. I'll be fine…" She lets out in unsteady breathes.

She obviously wasn't _fine_.

"Weiss, we can't just do nothing about this. You need help."

"This isn't your problem Ruby," She wheezes. "it's mine."

Just then, Weiss did something not even I had ever seen her do before. Weiss breaks down. I see a tear fall from her eye and she starts hiccupping and trying to smother the sound of her crying.

I step back from Weiss; the sight makes tears threaten my own eyes and I hear my voice crack as I speak.

"Weiss... I just want to help you." I pause, unsure of how to carry out what I was trying to get across. "I know that's not what you want to hear... but we all need help sometimes."

Weiss takes in an unsteady breath and a tear drops down the eye where here scar is, tracing it perfectly until falling onto her lap.

"You don't get it, Ruby-"

Something about hearing that phrase, for what feels like the thousandth time, makes me explode.

"MAYBE I DON'T!"

The volume and indignation of my voice surprises even me. I see Weiss flinch and let out a squeak. I feel immediate regret and apologies profusely before closing our distance and pulling her into a hug. She was still sitting on the bed, so I had to lean down to hold her. This gives her the perfect opportunity to burry he face into my chest.

I feel a tear roll of my cheek as I squeeze the girl in front of me tighter.

"Maybe I don't know... maybe I never will, and maybe all my attempts to make you better are fruitless." I try to soothe her. "And god be damned if that's the case, but I really, _really_ want to try."

I hold Weiss even tighter to me and I feel her stop shaking so much.

"Weiss, you're hurting," I loosen my grip to lean down and wipe a tear away from the broken girl's eye. "And when you're hurting... so am I." My voice cracks but I couldn't care less.

I break away from hug entirely and look Weiss in the eye. She tries to avoid my gaze, now painfully aware that she's been clinging to me since all this started.

I take one of my hands and run it along her cheek and into her hair. I use the leverage to push us together, until our foreheads are lightly touching, and close my eyes.

"Weiss I care about you so much it's scary. I'm sorry if that comes off as invasive or ignorant but it's really just because I care. I care more about you than you'll ever know, so please... let's try and get through this _together_. I don't care if it feels like you're using me. Let me carry some of the burden for you because I want nothing more than for you to be happy."

We stay like that for a moment; I don't open my eyes, scared of what I might see, but a quiet voice pulls me out of my trance.

"Ruby… take me somewhere."

* * *

I hop onto my bike and Weiss follows in suit, positioning her shoes onto the familiar grips and letting her hands rest on my shoulders.

I push us out of the parking lot and onto the sidewalk by the main road. The only thing lighting the way are the dim streetlamps that hang ominously over the pathway.

I pedal us down the road, not sure exactly where I was going. Weiss didn't specify where she wanted to go, just somewhere, and I gladly accepted that at face value. I continue following the street lights and passing by the little shops or gas stations we would occasionally cross paths with. It's a good thing we did this; I think we could both use some fresh air.

At certain points along the road there are intersections or four-way stops where the streetlights split off in multiple directions. Each time I look back at Weiss and she either points the way I should go, or shrugs, letting me decide.

As we fall down a short incline I can feel her grip tighten. I watch my breath fog out in front of me and I glance up periodically to watch Weiss's breath do the same.

As we reach what looks like a clearing I notice the lamps come to an end. I cease my pedaling and come to a slow stop at the last lamp, exhaling heavily with fatigue.

"What now?" I ask.

I feel Weiss stepping off the back of the bike and I put one foot on the ground to steady myself. I turn around and look at her questioningly.

"Hmm." Is all she offers me, before she starts walking into the grass and towards darkness.

My eyes widen and I awkwardly maneuver my way off my bike to try and catch up with her.

"Wait, Weiss! It's dangerous, wait for me!" I call as I stand my bike up and kick the stopper out.

I jog to catch up to her but she holds an arm out, making me freeze.

"Watch out." She says.

I look down to where Weiss is motioning and notice I was about to step in… water? That's when it dawned on me where we must be.

"Weiss, are we at the reservoir?"

"Seems like it." She says, squatting down next to the water's edge.

My eyes adjust more thoroughly to the dark and I can see the faint outline of where the water ends and the tree line begins. I spare a glance back towards my bike, making sure it hadn't fallen over.

"Fate sure has an odd way of intervening, don't you think?" Weiss asks.

"Hmm?" I question as I sit down next to her, crossing my legs and leaning back on my hands.

"Out of all the places we could have ended up, we stopped here." She clarifies.

I nod and we fall into a comfortable silence.

Thankful for the cover of the night, I look over at Weiss. She's sitting with her legs out to the side so her skirt flowed out cleanly around her. She dips one of her fingers into the water, like I remember her doing the first time we were here, and starts to twirl it around. Her movements were the only disruption in the still pool and the only noise I could hear besides the occasional hooting owl or chirping crickets.

It seemed like any normal person would get tired of looking at someone after what felt like hundreds of times, but for some reason I've never felt that way about Weiss. Each time I look at her I feel that aching in my chest all over again and it really does scare me sometimes. Then again, how could someone not look at her? She's the most gorgeous person I've ever met.

A faint blush forms on her cheeks and she bites her lower lip.

"Hey, Ruby?"

"Y- Yes?" I stammer, caught off guard by hearing her voice all of the sudden.

I watch as she, in a very non-Weiss fashion, darts her eyes around and anxiously mumbles a few times before speaking clearly.

"What, uhm, what do you like about me?"

My eyes widen and now it's my turn to blush.

Of course there were countless reasons why I liked Weiss. Too many reasons for me to even consider, but what was the answer she wanted to hear? That I like her for her looks, for her personality, for the way she shows me a kindness that she shows to no one else? Or does she want to hear that it's because I acknowledge her achievements in a way that her father doesn't, or for the way she always seems to know the right thing to do?

Weiss notices my lack of response and looks over at me.

"…Never mind. Sorry, that was a stupid question."

In a brief moment of panic, I vigorously shake my head.

"No, Weiss, listen…" I take a deep breath to shake my nerves. "I- I like you because you're strong. You've shown me a will-power that I didn't even know was possible and I think that's the reason I like you the most."

Weiss nods, but doesn't say anything. I take this as annoyance and start stammering out what's basically a ton of gibberish.

"There's other things too though! Like, uhm, how pretty you are- your smile and stuff I mean! A- And how you encourage me to do my best and hang out with me even though I'm just some geek. You're also really cute whet you get flustered like-"

"Ruby." Weiss cuts in.

"-Yeah?"

"Shut up."

I realize I must have been rambling and scratch the back of my neck out of embarrassment.

 _Way to go, Ruby. You might as well have just written your obituary because after spouting out all that nonsense, Weiss is never going to talk to you again._

I hang my head and pull on some grass with one of my hands. Now that I think about it, this really sucked. Here I am pouring my heart out to a girl who I'm never going to have a chance with and probably doesn't even want me around.

"Ruby." Weiss says again.

"Mhmm?"

This time I don't bother to even look over at her, too busy feeling sorry for myself.

"I think I like you too."

I swear, the world could have stopped rotating right then and there and I still couldn't have been more shocked as I was from hearing that sentence. I cease my hand that had been playing with the grass, along with my breathing and, well, every other bodily function that was keeping my alive.

Words couldn't _begin_ to describe how distraught I was. All I could do was turn my body to the girl sitting beside me. My heartbeat feels so erratic I might just pop like a balloon.

I stare at Weiss, who's also looking over at me with an unreadable expression. My eyes were practically bulging out of my head and my mouth hung agape.

" _Really?"_ I breathe.

"Yes, really."

I look around and stammer a bunch of incoherent words. Uncertainty began clouding my mind.

"You're not, like, messing with me?" I carefully ask.

Weiss huffs and gives me a deadpan look.

"Why would I joke about that you dolt?"

I can't help myself. Stumbling over my feet I move towards Weiss, pinning her into a side embrace. She lets out a small yelp of surprise, but doesn't push me away. I nuzzle my forehead into the side of Weiss's temple and a blissful laugh escapes my mouth.

Here I was, thinking all hope was lost and that the last coin of my dignity was tossed into a fountain and forgotten.

 _It is funny the way fate works sometimes._

Beneath me, Weiss loosens herself so she can partially turn to me and offer me a hug back. When she seems to find a comfortable grip, I feel myself bounce with joy and squeeze her tighter, making her wheeze a little.

" _Weiss._ " I sigh, stilling myself as best I could so she could hear me. "I'm really happy right now..."

We stay like that for a while, with me nuzzling into her every so often. I only back off a bit when Weiss complains about how I was going to squeeze her to death, but it doesn't last long as I remember the words said to me only minutes ago. I feel pure elation run through me and clasp the girl closer to me once again.

Eventually we pull away from each other and Weiss looks over at me with a shy expression.

"Are... are you going to ask me properly?" She says in a quiet voice.

"Huh?" I say, keeping a stupid grin on my face.

I couldn't get myself to stop smiling, even though my cheeks hurt. Only until a few seconds later did I actually process what she was asking me.

"Oh!" I giggle, making an embarrassed Weiss turn away from me.

"Weisss," I hum as I lean forward, causing her head to turn slightly back around. "Do you wanna be my girlfriend?"

Weiss finishes rotating herself so she's facing me again. As soon as her eyes meet mine, I see the usual pink welcoming itself back onto her cheeks.

She flits her eyes to the ground for a split second, before slowly looking back up to me again with a smile of her own.

"I think I would like that."


	13. Our Little Secret

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 13: Our Little Secret**

Have you ever felt like you're walking on air, that you're so happy to the extent where you feel like nothing a single person could say or do would stop you from feeling the high you're on?

Seriously, someone could walk by me right now and tell me the school was burning down, or for some reason I'm suddenly failing all my classes, or even that the world is ending and we all have two days to live before we're hurled into a wormhole, and I would _still_ be grinning ear to ear.

It's that feeling when you finally get to sit down and watch a show you've been waiting all week to catch up on, that moment when you hear the last school bell ring and you can't wait to either get home and play video games the rest of the night, or hang out with friends and eat ice cream at overpriced ice cream shops.

If you've ever seen a puppy that still doesn't know exactly how to walk yet, running in uneven strides that makes them look all unbalanced and dopey, well, that's probably me right now.

Inherently, I'm fast-walking down the school halls, on my way to meet Weiss.

I've been waiting to meet up with her all weekend. I've been sending her texts, but that's not the same to me as talking in person. Weiss is so formal with her texts it feels like I'm typing to one of those automated answering machines.

Another downside is we rarely get to see each other during the school day; we have classes together, but even then it's only for the brief five or so minutes until the bell rings. I tried passing her a note at one point during history, but Professor Peach wasn't having it and made me stay after class so she could lecture me.

However, none of those hindrances could stop the butterflies from piling in my stomach, feeling like they could burst at any second. I feel my grin grow impossibly wider and my clumsy pacing pick up speed at the mere thought of seeing Weiss.

Even if we're only meeting up because of student council work, I could virtually feel the excitement rolling off of me in waves.

As I round the last corner, I stumble a bit before spotting the classroom I was told to meet at. My pulse beats faster as I near the door and grab the offending handle that held it shut.

"Weiss!" I shout as I slam the door open.

I'm met with an angry pair of blue eyes across the room.

"Dolt, keep your voice down! We're still in school and you're _still_ one of our top representatives."

The grin doesn't leave my face, but I mutter an apology as I make my way over to her.

Weiss is sitting at a desk in the back of the empty classroom. She's wearing her normal uniform attire and that signature off-center ponytail that makes her hair cascade down her back, in turn giving her that eloquent atmosphere she usually emits. One of her legs is crossed over the other as she clicks her heel on the cheaply tiled floor like some sort of impatient business woman.

 _God, she looks so hot._

As I near her I notice there are papers stacked on a few surrounding desks and she has a pile of scantrons, those little fill in bubble sheets that are normally graded by a computer, accumulated on the side of the desk she's using.

I also look out towards the window and notice there's a large group of students running on the track. I try to see if I can spot Pyrrha, since she was one of the track team captains, but the kids are far enough away that they all kind of blur together, so I give up pretty quickly.

When I plop my backpack down beside Weiss, she motions for me to sit in the desk in front of the one she's using. I walk around her to take my seat, but once I sit down I realize I'm facing forward and I twist myself around, so I'm sitting the opposite direction in my chair.

I rest my arms on the back of the seat and wait for Weiss to look up from some paper she's marking, so she can tell me what I'm supposed to even be doing.

 _I'm fine with just watching her though…_

After a minute, Weiss finally finishes scribbling something on the bottom of the paper and looks up to meet my eyes. There's a slight pink hue to her cheeks and as soon as she sees the smile that's been plastered on my face since I got here. She gives a shy smile back.

"Hey." I say in a low voice that I hope expresses just how much I've missed her over the weekend.

Weiss looks away from me briefly, the hue in her cheeks flaring, before returning her attention downwards, towards the paper she had been writing on.

"Hey…"

There's a moment of silence that passes between us that I can only describe as pure bliss. Unfortunately, the sound of a whistle blowing outside, followed by what sounds like a group of students marching, breaks us out of our trance.

Weiss clears her throat and pats the stack of scantrons next to her.

"Anyways, Mrs. Peach asked if we could help her grade these history tests. The machine that normally grades them is broken and it can't be fixed until next week."

"Ugh, that's so boring." I complain.

It's not that I didn't expect something like this, I just don't want to spend the precious amount of time I have with Weiss grading papers.

"Quit your whining." She says, passing me a scantron off the top of the stack and handing me a piece of paper with holes cut in it.

Since I'm turned around in my seat, I set the papers on the desk Weiss is using, so that we're sharing the workspace. I eye the sheet with holes in it and pick it up confusedly. Weiss notices my scrunched up face and plucks the paper out of my hands. She places it on the scantron she gave me so the holes line up with the bubbled in answers.

"It's a key that marks the right answers on the test. If you don't see any pencil marks in the cut-out hole, then they got the question wrong." She points to one of the first unfilled bubbles and puts a red mark next to it. "Like that."

"Ohh, I get it now, thanks!"

She humbly nods and starts marking her own paper again. I start marking the one in front of me, which I feel like I could be doing more proficiently when the prettiest girl in school isn't sitting all of two feet away from me. Seriously, if I moved forward any closer our heads would bump and I would be lying if I said doing it on purpose wasn't tempting, but I know Weiss would probably be annoyed, so I stay still.

"I know it's not the most exciting work we could be doing today." Weiss says, tucking some loose hair back behind her ear. "The rest of the council is working on preparations for the music festival, so if we finish this early we can join them."

"Really? How far away is the festival anyways?" I ask, absentmindedly continuing to make marks down my form.

"If we're being honest, it's quite far away. But, this is one of the biggest school events all year, so we start preparing way in advance."

I nod and make a longing glance out at the track field as I pick up my next scantron. I wish Weiss and I could be out of school and running around to who knows where.

"It sounds really fun." I say, starting to mark my next test. "But, honestly, anything other than paperwork sounds fun right about now."

Without even looking up, I know Weiss is probably giving me an irked expression. She hates it when I complain about my work. I just can't help it sometimes, though! It's boring as all hell and I would literally rather be doing anything else other than boring filler work.

"Yes, I know you're not very fond of paperwork, however, I do have some good news to deliver."

I stop grading the paper and look up to Weiss excitedly.

"What is it? Are we finally getting a new table in the resource room? One that doesn't make me have to lean over to write on it? Oh man, that'd be awesome."

Weiss shakes her head.

"No, no new table, but because of the amount of money we raised at the game, the school is letting us use some of it to have a celebratory party for the council."

"That's even better than a table!" I exclaim giddily. "Do the other members know already?"

Weiss continues grading the paper in front of her but gives me an approving hum.

"Yes, they do, but it won't just be for council members."

"Ehh?" My voice comes out as a whine, earning a disapproving glance from Weiss.

"It wasn't only the council that helped, Ruby. There were plenty of other students and faculty, not to mention the players themselves, that helped put it together."

I scuff a shoe on the ground in disappointment, accidently kicking Weiss's shin in the process. I'd forgotten I was facing her and try to offer a quick apology before the inevitable happened. Alas, my efforts were in vain as I got a reprimanding thump to the forehead.

"Anyways, that reminds me," Weiss continues as I rub my forehead. "Have you decided if you wanted to go on the Science trip that Mr. Oobleck is supervising in the next coming week?"

I had completely forgotten about that. There's been so much going on the past few weeks, I'd let the tiny yellow pamphlet completely slip my mind.

From what I remember him telling me, the trip is for a select group of students to visit a science and engineering festival that showcases cool little exhibits and different jobs in the field. I still wasn't sure what field I wanted to go into, or if I even wanted to go on the trip at all, but I do remember Weiss had encouraged the idea, which made me feel a little better about it.

"I'm not sure, I haven't really thought about it…" I shrug.

Weiss tilts her head and snorts to herself.

"Of course you haven't. Well, I really think you should go. It's a great opportunity that offers some realistic insight on what going into any science field would be like."

I don't know why she's so keen on me going. She basically has her entire career handed to her on a silver platter. To be honest, the differences in our ideas for what we'll end up doing in the future, kind of scare me.

"Yeah I don't know…" I mumble.

"Really? Mr. Oobleck has even asked me to come and help-"

"You're coming!?" I jerk my head up, surprised.

"Well, yes I-"

"I'll go too!"

The thought of getting to spend an entire two days with Weiss was all that I could think of. Getting to share an hour long bus ride together and walk around a festival for hours seemed heavenly. Science be damned, if Weiss was going, I was going.

Weiss gives another small chortle and uses one of her hands to roll her shoulder back and forth, it was probably stiff from leaning over the desk for so long.

"That sounds like something you'd say."

The phrase made an unwelcomed heat rush to my cheeks and I try my best to stay on task.

We sit and grade for what feels like an hour, when in reality it was probably half that. Our pile of scantrons gets smaller, while the separate pile of graded test grew on the opposite side of the desk. I try to enjoy our closeness as much as I can, but it's kind of hard when the object of your affection won't even look up from her work.

Eventually, I give a tired sigh and rest my hands on the back of my seat, letting my head rest on top of them. I switch between watching Weiss work and looking out toward the track field to watch the students practice.

I feel myself start to nod off and try to make more conversation to keep myself awake.

"I wish I could be more like you, Weiss."

Weiss raises an eyebrow, not bothering to look up from a test she was grading.

"Oh? Why do you say that?" She inquires.

I shrug dumbly, not sure where to take the conversation.

"I dunno. You can do stuff like this for hours and somehow never complain about it."

Weiss just scoffs and holds her red pen up to her lips. She looks like she's deep in thought about something on the paper, but I just jealously watch as the pen is pressed snugly at her lip, which is now turned into a frown.

"Well," she begins. "most people are generally capable of doing mindless work for an hour or so, especially when they're not trying to take a nap every five minutes."

She scowls at me and the pen continues to tap against her lip, as if it were taunting me.

"Aw, c'mon Weiss, this is tiring!" I pout and prop my chin up on my hand. "Can't we just have a little fun? We're young, we should be spending our youth playing hooky, doing illegal drugs, going to parties!"

I giggle at myself for the irony of it. Neither one of us was much for social events, or breaking the law for that matter. Weiss just brushes some loose strands of hair behind her ear and at this point, I couldn't tell if she was playing dumb, or just trying to ignore me.

"Yes, because we all know what happens at said _parties_."

I feel my face flush red at the memory of my confession to Weiss. I grumble to myself and look out towards the track field once again.

"But you're still glad you went, right?"

I give her a sly grin, but if it affects her in any way she doesn't let it show. She only offers me a briefly annoyed look from her scantron, shaking her head slightly before looking back down. I let out a huff of annoyance, knowing Weiss wasn't going to be playing along with my teasing. That's when I get an idea.

I casually swipe my shoe under the table again, lightly enough that it grazes Weiss just below her shin. She glares at me through the top of her eyelids, daring me to do it again, as she continues grading her paper.

I swipe my foot again so it hits her a little harder. Not enough to hurt, but enough for her to know it wasn't an accident. I wait with anticipation, trying not to let my face twist into a smile.

Weiss lets out an agitated growl.

"Ruby, stop that."

I would normally feel bad about this, but seeing Weiss so miffed sometimes was honestly kind of cute. Cute in a way where she sounds like she wants to kill me, but I know it's just a bluff.

So, I swipe again.

This time a peeved Weiss looks up at me, Seeming like she was about to chew my head off, but I don't give her a chance.

As soon as her head was directly in front of mine, I take the chance and swiftly lean over the desk, planting a quick kiss on her lips.

Our noses bump awkwardly and Weiss lets out a squeak of surprise. I land on her mouth with my lips perked outwards and, since her mouth was halfway open, probably about to lecture me, I capture some moisture from her bottom lip. It's a brief, painful kiss, but it's also the most exhilarated I've felt since that roller coaster ride.

When our lips touched the chemistry felt almost instantaneous. My body felt tingly and my chest rose unevenly with the skipped beat of a breath. There's this uniquely overwhelming and… _nerve-racking_ feeling that I just can't describe.

I had closed my eyes right before the moment, yet, I could still feel Weiss's grow wide in shock. I'm pretty sure I was visibly shaking when I leaned over the table, putting my hands on either side to steady myself, and I hope Weiss didn't notice.

Even though it only lasts a second, I could feel my mind churning into complete butter, and any sense of time is cut out of the equation entirely. In the crisp moment of bliss, I feel all my troubles fly away and all my doubts get buried under miles and miles of euphoria.

 _This makes me happy. Weiss makes me happy._

I slowly open my eyes, pulling away from the kiss, and lowering myself back down into my chair. A smug grin stays plastered on my face the entire time, but Weiss looks exactly like a statue, well, if it wasn't for her face getting redder by the second.

Needless to say, that stunt earned me multiple thumps to the forehead.

* * *

"Weisss, I said I was sorry! Please slow down."

"I absolutely will _not._ "

I whine to myself as I shift my backpack straps more comfortably on my back, trying to speed up so I can close the growing gap between me and Weiss. It wouldn't be as hard if I didn't have to lug my dead-weight bike behind me the whole time, causing me to curse myself for bringing it today.

By the time we had finished grading papers, the rest of the council was already done with planning for the festival. So, I opted to walk Weiss home instead. Although, considering Weiss is about five paces in front of me and not seeming to be slowing down any time soon, I wouldn't exactly call this 'walking her home'.

"I don't get what the big deal is. We're dating, right? Why are you so upset?"

Weiss stops in place and turns around angrily, causing me to fumble and almost trip over the bike as I freeze. She walks back towards me, heels clicking on the sidewalk the entire way, and sets a hand on one of the handles of my bike. She uses her other hand to point at me accusingly.

"You dolt, we agreed to keep this a secret!" She hisses at me.

I want to argue, but… she wasn't wrong. On the night when Weiss returned my feelings we had mutually acknowledged that this was something we weren't going to tell people. Neither of us have come out yet, and with Weiss's family status, well, you can forget about the idea of having any sort of lover entirely.

Her family was devoted to work; any sort of acceptable relationship to them is only one that grows their status or gives them monetary gain. I certainly can't offer Weiss either of those things, but I want to be affectionate with her, nonetheless. Being with her is practically a dream as it is; I just wish she would reciprocate my feelings in a more physical way, no matter how small the gesture.

"I don't see the problem, though. No one was around to see us, Weiss."

Weiss pinches the bridge of her nose and lets go of my bike handle in an exasperated gesture. She starts walking again, but this time letting me fall into step beside her as we pass by some overgrown trees and shrubbery.

"You don't know that, Ruby. Anyone could've walked in."

Reasonably, I know she's right. It still doesn't change the fact that I wanted to do it though.

"It was just a peck, calm down. I promise I won't do it again."

"You better not…"

Weiss crosses her arms and continues her long strides. I still don't know how she wears those heels all day, let alone walk in them like some runway model. If I were in those shoes, I know for a fact that I would have tripped a dozen times by now on this short walk alone.

It's pretty obvious that Weiss wasn't going to take any chances with our relationship, and that I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I still wish I could somehow be closer to her. Our relationship feels exactly the same as it has been for the past few months, other than the kiss I'd given her.

I know we're getting close to Weiss's house, too. I've already memorized the familiar sidewalks and fancy homes lining the streets, along with the intricate, tall black lamp posts that line the way. It's practically the exact opposite of all the cramped and similar looking houses in my neighborhood, which makes this walk a lot easier to remember.

I look over at Weiss and notice her hand swaying gently by her side. I gulp, wanting so desperately to reach out and hold that hand, but I think better of it. Unfortunately, Weiss catches me staring and squints at me.

"What?" she asks.

I practically jump, almost dropping my bike in the process, and look up from her side and towards her eyes. She's giving me a distasteful look and I feel my face heat up.

"I- I wasn't thinking anything bad, I promise! I just, uhh, I was just wondering if, uhm, y-your hand." I stumble through my words.

Weiss raises an eyebrow.

"Mhmm, my hand?"

I slap my forehead and cover my eyes with my free hand, the one that wasn't holding my bike. I feel so laughably inexperienced with this that I just _know_ my incompetence is showing, and if there was anyone I didn't want to show that to, it was Weiss.

"Nothing… Just forget it. It was stupid." I slide my hand off my face and run it through my hair.

Weiss nods and we round a corner with a larger familiar brick fence that goes on for quite a while. She looks a bit restless and uncomfortable, which makes me feel even worse. I hate seeing Weiss upset and I hate feeling like I'm partially the reason.

I feel a tug on my uniform's sleeve and glance towards a pale hand that grabbed it. My eyes grow wide, and I don't look away from the delicate grip as I hear Weiss clear her throat.

"Ruby, it's not that I don't _want_ to, it's just..." Weiss lets go and makes a motion with her hand, like she's trying to find the right words, but she ends up trailing off.

Despite my dampening mood, the action made me grin and I look up at Weiss knowingly.

"It's okay, Weiss." Feeling a bit daring, I lean over and tuck some loose hair behind her ear. "I get it. Really, it's not a big deal."

Weiss nods solemnly, but still takes the chance to look around us, making sure no one was watching. The gesture is cute and I want to cherish it, but as I remember she's only doing it because no one can find out about us, I feel myself wistfully hoping we won't have to pretend forever.

"Ruby, have you ever... been with anyone else before?" She asks nervously.

The way she phrases it makes me chuckle and I shake my head good-naturedly. This is the Weiss I like best. Not the one that's all serious and uptight, but the one that's unsure of herself and honest.

"Not really. I've had, like, crushes and stuff… but none of them were very realistic anyways."

 _Then again, neither was this one…_

Knowing that this cute girl beside me was bound to me in a more intimate way, almost makes me break out into another uncontrollable grin.

Weiss, however, doesn't look very pleased with my answer.

"Were they all girls, or…?"

I shrug, trying to remember the last time I legitimately had a crush on anyone, and... there really weren't any I could think of at the moment.

"I honestly don't remember. Most of them, maybe? I never really had a real crush on anyone until-" I stop myself on instinct, until I realize I was already- technically- in a relationship with the girl I was about to admit this to. "u-until, well, until you I guess."

I feel embarrassed enough to want to claw my eyes out, but Weiss's thoughtful hum is what ultimately keeps me from committing the deed.

"I see…"

We reach the familiar and grand white gate with a huge _S_ on the front of it. Weiss walks over to its edge and types in a code on a padlock that gives way to a loud buzzing sound, followed by a click. I lean my bike up against the other end of the gate and pause as Weiss walks over to pull it open.

I follow behind her and wait until we walk around the large fountain, decorated by hedges and small flowerbeds, to speed up my pace.

I stealthily reach in front of me and grasp onto one of Weiss's hands with both of my own. I twirl her around before grabbing her other hand to pull her closer to me, earning a squeak of surprise. I laugh at the look on her face, but I leave a respectable half-foot gap between us.

Intimacy was new to both of us and no matter how much I want to tackle Weiss right here and now, I know it's not what she would want. We have to take it slow if we want this to work, and _god_ did I want this to work.

"Ruby!? What on earth are you-"

Weiss's talking ceases as I lean over and gently rest my forehead against hers.

She lets out a few confused noises and small sounds of protest, but she doesn't pull away. I let out a low, content hum as I listen to the trickling fountain, the only thing that hides us from the rest of the world, making this place belong solely to us.

"I wish we didn't have to keep this a secret…" My voice is at a half-whisper, even though we're just inches apart.

Our faces were so close that I could feel Weiss's breath hitch at my voice, confirming to me that she's just as aware of my presence as I was of hers. I keep my hold on her hands and tenderly rub my thumbs in circles on the backs of the dainty and pale palms.

I feel Weiss shrug.

"That's just the way society works, Ruby."

I pout and give her forehead a small nuzzle. The action musses up the bangs that fall over her forehead and makes the strands mingle more closely with my own hair.

"Well, society is dumb."

I feel Weiss's body shake slightly as she lets out a small giggle.

"That sounds like something you'd say."

I squint at her playfully.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

She shakes her head against mine and I push my forehead harder against hers, not willing to give up.

"Nothing, nothing! I swear." She chuckles, making her fall back slightly.

I close the distance again and keep a firm hold of her hands in mine. I don't plan on kissing her again, she obviously wasn't okay with it last time, but I want to show her I care _somehow._ The best I can think of is to keep running circles over the back of her palms and continue resting my forehead against hers.

"You know, Ruby," Weiss says after a while. I give her a hum in response that makes us both smile. "How about we look at this in a... different way. Instead of us thinking we have to hide this, how about we think of it as our secret?"

I feel my grin get pulled impossibly wider. I've probably smiled today more than I have any other day in my life, and I feel like that's completely justified.

"Our secret, hmm?" I murmur in that same half-whisper I've been using. "I like the sound of that."

I use my grip to gingerly bump both our hands together a few times and I feel Weiss softly nod against my forehead.

"Yeah, our secret."

* * *

When I reach my house I slam open the door and kick off my shoes at the entryway. Despite Yang's loud protests from the kitchen, I start running up the stairs and into my room at the end of the hall.

Once I enter my room and close the door behind me, I throw my stuffy uniform jacket onto my bed and drop my backpack onto the floor.

I practically leap into my computer chair, which makes it roll across the room until it hits the foot of my bed. I cover my eyes with both my hands, trying not to squeal as I recount my time with Weiss. Honestly though... it's _really_ hard not to.

 _This doesn't feel real._

Never in a million years would I have believed it if someone told me that when Weiss and I first met, we would end up dating. She's just so smart and so _god damn_ cute I can't even begin to fathom why she reciprocated my feelings.

Jesus, just thinking about her gets me all riled up. I can't stop the butterflies from fluttering around my stomach, making my heart feel like it would jump out of my chest at any given minute.

 _Oh god, I've got it even worse than when I was just crushing on her._

I know I won't be able to think about anything other than Weiss the rest of the night. So instead of doing something sensible like homework or playing my video games, I just slide down in my chair, groaning to myself.


	14. What's Mine Is Mine

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 14: What's Mine Is Mine**

"Let's have a toast." The council members raise their glasses. "To annoyingly well-planned events that are somehow always a success!"

Glasses clink and nominal applause is heard around us.

"Cheers!"

A round of sparkling grape juice, in very tall and skinny glasses, is held together in a tight circle by the student council members.

The party Weiss had mentioned, the one we earned from doing so well in our earnings at the basketball game, is in full swing. The entire cafeteria had been cleared out and people filled the room, teachers, players, and students alike.

Currently, I stand in our circle towards the back end of the huge room, holding up my glass of juice with the rest of the council. Yang had just made the toast and Weiss, who stands by my side, looks annoyed by the way my sister chose to… _give_ the celebratory words.

Nevertheless, we all pull our juice away and take a sip. Across from me, Nora takes a huge gulp and ends up downing it within seconds, then proceeding to shake her head and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Damn, feels like only yesterday we were hanging posters and yelling at each other about what color tickets should be."

Beside me, Weiss raises an eyebrow at the comment. "I remember it being quite a bit more… _civil_ than that."

Yang, who is standing on the other side of Weiss, leans over and rests her arm on top of the girl's perfectly manicured head.

"I think what the pres here means to say-" Yang sarcastically gestures to the girl she's still leaning on, causing me to giggle, and arising an aggravated grunt out of Weiss. "is that we all missed you at the game, and we're happy to have you back in action!"

"Ugh, tell me about it." Nora bumps her head against Ren's arm. "I'm never drinking alcohol again, that was the worst day of my life."

Ren looks skeptical and takes another sip of his juice. "Didn't you just tell me the other day you wanted to throw another- mmph!?"

Nora slaps a hand over his mouth and loudly shushes him.

" _Shh!_ It's supposed to be a secret! I haven't even come up with a theme yet."

"The last one didn't have a theme." Blake deadpans from her spot beside Yang.

Nora looks to her, dumbfounded. "The _theme_ was a bonfire, duh."

"That's not really a theme though- is it?" Blake retorts.

"An attraction, maybe?" Pyrrha offers.

They start debating and Weiss looks down towards her glass, obvious disinterest displayed on her face.

She looks really pretty today, even more so than usual. She's wearing a grey blazer with a collared shirt underneath and a matching skirt. Yang still has her arm resting on her head, which I can tell is irking Weiss, but I try not to let the action bother me.

Yang notices me watching and is easily able to look over Weiss's head to give me a sly grin.

"So, Ruby, tell me how it feels to be taller than someone for once?" She motions to Weiss, who she's still leaning on.

Weiss scoffs and, finally having enough, shoves Yang's arm off her head, causing the blonde to lose balance momentarily.

"As _if_ Ruby is taller than me."

Yang snickers and takes a drawn-out gulp of juice out of her glass. "Hate to break it to you, princess, but when you're not in those three-inch heels, you tend to lose, well, three inches."

Weiss stands up straighter, as if that was even possible from her normal posture and turns to me with squinted eyes. I feel my face heat up at the attention, but after a moment of what seemed like sizing me up, she shakes her head, as though she's come to a conclusion.

"You're delusional." She states.

"Oh, yeah? Why don't you turn back to back then?" Yang inquires, obviously trying to get a rise out of Weiss.

I decide I should probably step-in; an irritated Weiss was not a very pleasant one.

"Yang, stop messing with her." I whine. "If Weiss says she's taller, then she's probably right."

Weiss gives me an approving nod, but, regardless of what I just said, I'm a bit skeptical myself.

This year alone, I've grown a good inch or two and I'm willing to bet that if we did stand back to back Weiss might not like the results. She did normally wear her heels though, but even when she is wearing them I feel like I'm starting to be more eye to eye with her.

Height didn't bother me so much nowadays, however, it obviously bothered Weiss. A lot of things bothered her actually. Including these weird notions she gets about our relationship, like not even wanting me to look at her in public, much less touch her in any way, out of fear we might be seen by someone.

However, it's substantially different when we're alone. When Weiss lets her vulnerable side show she's just so cute and honest and I honestly can't get enough of it. Whenever this side of Weiss is around, it's hard to think she can be so cold and distant with other people.

I like both sides of Weiss. I just wish she'd show much more of her humble side in public.

Then again, I kind of don't want people to see that side of her. It's nice thinking that's a side of her only I get to see, and when I think about other people knowing Weiss like I do, well, it makes my stomach clench with an odd sense of greed.

I shake my head, trying to rid the thought, and take a leisurely sip of my juice. I look up to take a glance around the room, only to realize there were actually a lot more people here than I was expecting.

Over by the drink table there was a rowdy group of teenage boys, who, judging by their height and stature, I presumed to be some of the basketball players. They were roughly shoving each other around and running in to some of the unfortunate volunteers and staff who were happened to be passing by.

Most people were dressed nicely. Weiss had told me to wear something nice as well; I don't own much classy clothing, so I ended up throwing on the school's uniform shirt and some black jeans. I seem to be fitting in well enough, and Weiss only spent about a minute fixing my shirt collar before allowing me inside.

Amongst the crowd, I spot a drop of orange hair and strain my neck to look past the chattering council members. As my friend comes into view, I step out of the circle of members and wave to the familiar face.

Penny gives me a wave back and holds up a shiny camera that is dangling around her neck. As I raise an eyebrow in question, she changes her direction over to where I stand.

I step out of the group of council members and meet her halfway. We share a brief hug, causing the camera to dig into my stomach, and when I pull away I have to smooth my shirt back down.

"Sal-u-tations, Ruby!"

"Hey, Penny. I didn't know you were coming to this either, you really need to start telling me these things."

"Don't be silly." Penny gives me one of her signature boops on the nose. "I wasn't planning on coming. It was kind of last minute that yearbook decided I should go to get some pictures." She pridefully pets the camera she's holding.

"Oh, I see. Just text me or something next time then."

I turn my head around back towards my group of friends. I spot Weiss looking over at me. When I catch her staring her eyes widen momentarily, before she guiltily looks back towards the group, like a kid caught stealing candy.

 _Cute…_

"Well, since I'm here, why don't I take a picture of the student council?"

"Huh?" I ask, turning back around to face her.

Penny looks at me with a confused expression. "You guys _were_ the ones who made most of this happen. If it wasn't for you, yearbook wouldn't have the funds to get new equipment next year."

I don't see what harm it could do, so I shrug and motion with my head for Penny to follow me back to the group.

I'm a little nervous that she might have seen what happened between me and Weiss just now, but if she caught onto anything, she wasn't letting on.

As I re-enter our little corner, everyone notices the new addition I've brought back, and greet her warmly.

"Greetings, councilmen!" Penny salutes, provoking Yang to give her a mock salute in return, which earns her an elbow to the side from Blake. "I was wondering if I might be able to snap a quick shot of you guys for yearbook." She holds up her camera and offers a bright smile.

"Of course!" Nora says enthusiastically. "I get to be in the front!" She quickly claims.

Everyone forms a line, with Yang and Nora in the front and the rest of us lined up behind them. We took a few serious pictures, some with us smiling, and one or two goofy ones that Weiss wasn't having any part of. For those last ones, I opted for stealthily holding bunny ears behind Weiss's unknowing head.

I assumed we were done, until Yang told everyone to stay still.

"I think we need to get a few with our representative members in the front."

The representative members I'm guessing to be me, Weiss, Blake, and Pyrrha, since we were the only ones in the council with actual titles.

We repositioned ourselves again, with me and Weiss in the center of the front and the secretary and treasurer on our sides respectively. I'm unexpectedly nervous now that I'm in the front of the picture, and I'm pretty sure Weiss is too. I can feel how stiff she is beside me, so I subtly reach over and gently lace one of my fingers with hers.

We're squished so close together you wouldn't be able to see it, and looking over at her between pictures, I can see there is a blush on her cheeks.

Once we finish taking the shots, Penny gives us a thumbs-up and we all go back to our random chatter, this time in more paired off groups. Weiss and I stand off to the side and watch some of the basketball players throwing punch around.

"Honestly, I don't see why we let such uncouth students into events like these."

"They're just trying to have some fun, Weiss." I shrug to myself. "It's not like they're hurting anyone."

"What they're _hurting_ is our schools reputation." She continues, indignantly. "If this was one of my family's banquets, they would have been escorted out before they even came in."

Weiss doesn't talk about stuff like this much, stuff that has to do with her family. Sometimes I think that's what triggers her panic attacks, but then there are times like these where she seems to freely talk about it.

 _I really don't get it…_

"I thought you didn't like the banquets? Aren't you usually forced to perform at them or something?" I question.

Weiss let's out a breath of air, blowing some of her bangs out of her eyes in the process.

"I wouldn't exactly say _forced._ It's more like my father strongly suggests it." Weiss distractedly switches her gaze from the rowdy basketball players to the floor, almost as if she wants to say something more.

To be honest, I was extremely curious about Weiss's little talent. She's mentioned singing before, and how much she enjoys it, I've just never actually heard her sing before.

Sure, there have been a few occasions where I've caught her humming a little tune while she was working on something in the council room, or even just nodding her head to a song on the radio, but I've never gotten to hear what her voice sounds like. Just picturing what she'd look like while doing so almost makes me go weak in the knees.

 _She probably sounds like an angel…_

"…Ruby?"

"Huh?" I look up from the glass of juice I was still holding, realizing I hadn't been paying attention to anything Weiss had been saying.

Embarrassed at being caught, I scratch the back of my head, eliciting an eye roll from Weiss.

"I said, I'm going to go walk around and welcome some of our guests." Weiss reaches her hands back to readjust her ponytail. "Don't let the rest of the council members get to rowdy."

"Aww, I wanna go with you though." I pout.

Weiss finishes fixing her ponytail and lets her hands drop to rest on her hips, then proceeding to let out a long sigh. "You're such a child sometimes, Ruby. I won't be gone long."

I try not to let the immensity of disappointment I feel show on my face, but I know I must look like a brooding kid to Weiss.

"Okay… I'll miss you."

For the first time since we've been talking tonight, Weiss actually gets a bit flustered, not knowing quite what to say. She tries to keep a composed look on her face, but the heat flaring up in her cheeks give her true feelings away.

"Dolt… me too." Weiss scurries off into the crowd, leaving me smiling after her receding form.

"Well I'm sure glad someone's having fun tonight."

The voice comes from behind me and I turn around to find Mr. Oobleck making his way over.

For a second, it almost seemed as though he was insinuating something about me and Weiss, and I start feeling a bit defensive.

"It sure is wonderful to have such good friends at such a young age, wouldn't you agree, Ruby?"

 _Oh…_

I instantly feel silly for getting worked up so fast and offer my teacher a wave as an unknowing apology. "Yep, it's really nice."

Mr. Oobleck nods his approval and swirls around some liquid in a coffee cup he was holding. He was wearing a nice button down and some dress pants, which is honestly a big step from the coffee stained shirts he usually wears to school.

"I would like to congratulate you for your work in the council, Ruby. Your group has done some amazing work this year and it deserves to be recognized like this."

I scratch the back of my head and scuff one of my shoes on the ground, feeling awkwardly bashful from the compliment.

"Thanks, Mr. Oobleck. We worked really hard."

"Well, I am sure glad you've taken to it." My teacher lifts his mug and downs about three large gulps before taking a breath of air. "Speaking of, have you given any more thought on the science festival? I would sure love to have my brightest student there."

I nod enthusiastically at my teacher. "Oh, yeah! I'm definitely going, Weiss and I want to look at the reptile exhibits."

It wasn't exactly a lie. I wanted to look at the exhibits and Weiss didn't say she _didn't_ want to look at them, she just said we can look at whatever booths we come across.

"Excellent! I'll have you know, Ruby, some of Sciences biggest opportunities appear at this festival. Jobs and college offers from all over the country show up here. It's great for discovering what you would like to do once you're out of high school."

I nod and silently wonder if I will actually find something I want to do once I'm out of high school. This festival seems like a good bet for finding something I like, and Weiss was pretty excited about it as well.

It made me curious as to what her plans would be once we enter the real world. Not that we haven't talked about it before, she's dead-set on following in her family's footsteps and taking over the business. But does that mean she's going to business school somewhere? What college is she going to anyways? Is she even going to college?

I feel myself frown as I fail to answer any of the questions in my head. I turn away from my teacher, who was happily sipping coffee, and look around to see if I could spot Weiss.

Sure enough, across the room a familiar length of white hair makes itself standout amongst the other guests. However, when I spot her, my frown only deepens.

The sight of Weiss laughing was enough to make me smile almost guaranteed. The key word being _almost_. When Weiss is laughing with a certain lean and blue-haired boy, it's enough to make my blood boil almost instantly.

 _Calm down, Ruby. Don't make a scene._

"Are you alright Miss Rose?" Mr. Oobleck is peering at me over the rim of his coffee cup.

I spare a glance at him, but by the time I answer I'm already walking away. "Yeah, I have to go do something. I'll see you Monday, Mr. Oobleck."

"Take care!"

As I approach the two across the room, I watch as Neptune says something, making crazy hand gestures to go along with it, while Weiss watches intently. I pick up my pace and by the time I've made it over to them, Weiss is smiling at whatever dumb joke Neptune must have told.

"What's so funny?" I pop up from behind Weiss, startling her.

"Ruby!" Weiss places a hand on her chest and takes a shaky breath out. "Don't scare me like that, you dunce."

I continue to glare at the boy standing across from us. Neptune gives me a wave and a knowing expression appears on his face.

"So you're the vice president! Weiss has told me a lot about you!" He says, enthusiastically.

"Oh, has she now?" I turn towards Weiss, whose gaze immediately focuses anywhere but my direction. All I get from her is a shrug and some incoherent mumbles.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" I ask with a hint of indignation.

Neptune's face lights up and for some reason it makes me even more on edge.

"We were talking about the play the student council put on last year. There was this insanely funny moment when the lead broke a door handle on one of the set pieces during the last night of the show. The improv was _so_ bad, had me rolling."

"It _was_ quite amusing." Weiss says. "Even though they spent so much time rehearsing, it was really unfortunate."

"You put a lot of effort into it, Snow Angel. It was honestly pretty dope even for a school play. The costumes were great too."

I start feeling like I'm a bit of a third wheel, but there's no way in hell I'm about to stand around and let my girlfriend get hit on by this idiot.

"It brought a plentiful amount of revenue to the school, that's what matters."

Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss watches me as I silently seethe, and I feel her elbow my side as if to say, _'play nice.'_

"Well that sounds hilarious." I deadpan.

Neptune, of course, is oblivious to the irony and continues talking away, talking like he _wasn't_ trying to flirt with Weiss right in front of me.

Granted, he didn't know we were dating, no one did; sometimes I don't even feel like we're dating. It's few and far in-between when we've actually gotten to be ourselves without anyone around.

"Weiss was an usher, ya'know? She had to wear a flight attendant costume while escorting-"

"-I don't think it's necessary to bring that up, Neptune." Weiss quickly interferes.

 _Weiss in a flight attendant costume…_

"Don't worry Snow Angel, it was hot."

I feel my cheek twitch at his comment. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take.

Even though this is my first time meeting the guy, he's already made a blatantly obvious pass at Weiss, in turn making me very wary about him being around her.

And even though we haven't been dating that long, I worry she might come to her senses all of the sudden and question why she's even with someone like me. She's better in every aspect of, well, everything, and because of her desirableness, I get stupidly jealous like this.

"You know what I think?" I cut in, casually stepping halfway in front of Weiss.

" _Ruby…_ " Weiss quietly warns.

"I think Weiss is _very_ hot."

Neptune stares at me for a moment, unsure of what to say. Weiss looks absolutely mortified.

"...How about you go get her a drink to help her cool off?"

Neptune stares at me dumbly, before realization crosses his features and he gives me a thumbs-up. "You got it, Vice Pres."

He walks away and makes his way towards the drink table towards the front of the room.

 _Thunk._

"Ow!?" I put a hand to my freshly thumped forehead.

"You _dolt!_ " Weiss hisses.

"What?" I say, feigning ignorance.

Weiss looks like she's about to yell at me, until she takes a moment to look around at all the people around us. Thinking better of it, she grabs my wrist, dragging me through the crowd and into one of the back corners of the room, right next to the bathrooms.

As soon as we reach the corner, Weiss drops my wrist and, even though she's pissed at me, I find myself instinctively missing her touch.

She glares at me and crosses her arms over her chest. "You can't just say stuff like that, Ruby." She huffs.

"C'mon, I didn't do anything wrong. I was just trying to get him to leave."

"So, it's okay for you to interrupt my conversations and then just chase away my company all together?"

"He was blatantly flirting with you!" I counter.

"That might be so, but he's still an old friend of mine, and what you did was incredibly rude to both him _and_ me." Weiss unfolds her hands and places them on her hips.

I feel myself growing increasingly guarded. "You could at least tell him you're not interested, or already have a partner or something, instead of just _letting_ him continue to hit on you."

"What I say to my friends is my business, Ruby. And what _you_ said to him could be more telling than you think."

"There's no way he knows about us, Weiss!" I, almost hysterically, throw my arms towards the large crowd of people in the cafeteria. "For _god sake_ , no one knows! So do you know how seeing something like that makes me feel!?"

"Keep your voice _down_ , I-"

"Oh-ho-ho, what's this? A lovers quarrel?"

We both freeze.

Weiss frantically takes a step back from me and looks towards the voice we just heard. When I see who it is, I feel my face go pale.

Yang walks over to us, just having exited the girls bathroom. As she nears us, she must have seen the horrified looks on our faces because she knits her eyebrows together in concern.

"What happened? You two look like you just saw a ghost." At our lack of response, her concerned expression turns into one of confusion. "I was just messing with you, what are you two fighting about now?"

Weiss and I look at each other and let out sighs of relief.

Yang continues to watch us and an awkward silence passes between the three of us. Neither me or Weiss want to say anything. Thankfully, Yang takes liberty to break the awkwardness.

"Okayyy… Well, I was planning on asking if you wanted to call it a night, Rubes, but uh…"

I look up at Weiss, who's refusing to look at me. She has a pained look on her face and it hurts me more than anything to see her look like that.

"Weiss…" I reach out for her hand.

Weiss shakes her head and backs away from me, leaving my arm hanging limply halfway in the air.

"Just go for now, Ruby. We can work this out later."

* * *

As we exited the cafeteria and headed towards the parking lot, where Yang parked Bumblebee, I feel my sisters eyes on me the whole way.

"You okay, Rubes?" She finally asks, breaking the long silence.

"I don't want to talk about it." I pout.

Yang doesn't question me any further as we continue our way into the schools parking lot.

Weiss and I argue all the time, but we've never had anything like _that_ before. I don't see what the big deal is though. I just sent him away, why is it such a crime that I don't want some guys who's flirting with her to be around her?

I didn't think being in a relationship would be so hard. I keep thinking that I'll get used to it, waking up and having Weiss text me good morning, or ask to meet at the front of the school before classes, but I don't get used to it.

Every time I see her I feel like my heart might just keep pounding until it pops. I want to do things with her, go places with her, and tell her how much she means to me. Sometimes, it's so hard to keep these feelings bottled up and I'm scared they might come spewing out and scare Weiss away.

I still haven't even told her how I almost kissed her before we even started dating.

 _Ugh, forget about that already, Ruby._

I just want us to come to an understanding in our relationship, and I decide I'll talk to her about it in person on Monday. Communication is key in any sort of relationship; this is something my dad taught me when I was in middle school, not that I've ever been good at it, but I know it's important.

We reach Yang's bike and she grabs her helmet off the handlebar to hand it to me. I'm about to take it from her when she pauses and pulls back slightly.

"Listen, Rubes, I know you and Weiss don't always get along, but I hate seeing you upset. Something obviously happened, and if you don't want to tell me that's fine, but don't beat yourself up about it. If there's one thing I know about you, it's that you always know the right thing to do."

I take the helmet out of her hand and give her a smile. "Thanks, Yang. I needed that."

Yang plucked the helmet back out of my hand and put it on my head, proceeding to strap it for me.

"Yeah, yeah. Now quit your moping, let's go home."

The ride back was a silent one and when we reached our driveway I noticed my dad's truck was gone, but there was an oddly familiar sports car parked in the driveway. Yang and I glanced at each other with eyebrows raised.

We unlock the front door and make our way inside the mostly dark home.

"Hello?" Yang calls out.

There's a moment of silence before we get our answer.

"In the kitchen, girls."

 _No way…_

As soon as I hear the voice, I sprint down the hall, not even pausing to take off my shoes. I reach the kitchen and practically pounce on the figure in the doorway.

"Uncle Qrow! Ooh, it's so good to see you!" I squeeze him in the biggest bear-hug I could give.

"Easy there, kiddo. I'm not as young as I used to be."

"Uncle Qrow!" Yang enters the kitchen in a much calmer manor than I had, but still proceeds to give the man a big hug. "It's been so long since we last saw you, what're you doing here?" She asks.

We let go and look up at Uncle Qrow expectantly. Qrow grumbles a few words and takes a sip out of the flask in his hand.

"Your father's gonna be out on business for a while, asked me to look out for you while he's gone."

"He didn't tell us anything?" Yang questioned, mostly to herself.

"Yeah, we saw him just before we left for the council party." I add on.

Qrow waves us off. "He said it was super last minute, and that you guys would probably wanna see me anyways." Qrow takes another gulp out of his flask. "So, what's new then, firecracker?"

Yang takes a moment to think. "I got some new mods on my bike, wanna take a look in the morning?"

"I also got a bike!" I exclaim excitedly.

"Now, I know there's no way in hell Tai got you a bike, kiddo."

"She means an actual bike, like a bicycle. It's actually pretty nice." Yang clarifies.

I absolutely love it whenever Uncle Qrow comes to town. We could just spend hours talking like this. I have a lot of fond memories of the four of us hanging out in the living room and going camping when we were really young.

Uncle Qrow was my role model in so many ways, but we hardly get to see him. That being said, when I do get to see him it's always a treat, but it's also sad when he has to leave, since we always know we won't see him for a while.

 _I wish Weiss was here to meet him._


	15. A Perfect Imperfection

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 15: A Perfect Imperfection**

Lately, it feels like all we've been doing in the student council is busy work. Well, everything _I've_ been doing anyway.

 _Ruby, we need copies of this. Ruby, go ask Mrs. Glenda what she thinks about this banner. Ruby, give one of these forms to every teacher on the second floor. Ruby, stop sleeping and help us fill out these attendance sheets._

I'm starting to feel like the only reason I'm even _in_ the council is to be a pack mule for everyone else.

Even the job I'm assigned to now is lackluster compared to all the cool music festival events everyone else gets to work on. That's right, while the rest of the members get to come up with fun games to play and stands to have at the festival, I get to help put away books in the library.

Granted, Weiss is helping me this time around, which only really serves in adding a heavy awkwardness to the atmosphere.

It's about mid-way through the week and we still haven't talked about what happened. Not that we haven't talked to each other at all, it's more like all our interactions were stiff and robotic.

Yep, we've been avoiding the topic. This is exactly what I _didn't_ want to happen, it's only serving to damage our relationship.

I even mentioned a _much_ less detailed version of my situation to Uncle Qrow, and even he agreed that what we are doing is unhealthy and will become more of a detriment the longer we let it go on.

I sigh and reach over to take a particularly thick novel off my cart, which is filled with various other titles needing to be put away.

As I slide it into its correct place on the shelf, I sneak a glance at Weiss, who's standing on the isle of bookshelves across from mine, squinting at the little plates that have the lettering order on the shelves.

Feeling a constriction in my stomach, I turn back towards my own cart of books.

I've been mulling over the situation since it happened and I've managed to come to two conclusions. The first one being that I definitely could have handled it better, and the second one being, no matter who is in the right or wrong, I need to apologize.

I take a moment to look around the empty library; most students have gone home by now or were finishing up their own clubs. The only people that are left are the librarians, along with a few straggling students.

I turn back to continue putting away my books until I hear a grunt from the shelves across from mine.

Looking over, I find Weiss straining to reach the top shelf. She was on the tips of her toes, attempting to close the distance between the book in her hand and the bottom of the ledge with what might as well be sheer will-power.

I find myself almost cackling at the sight.

"Do you need me to help you?" I ask, attempting to sound generous.

Unfortunately, the kindness in my sentence was lost behind the smothering of my laughter.

Weiss just huffs in annoyance, not bothering to look over at me and continuing to strain herself so she could reach.

"No… I've got it."

Rolling my eyes, I turn back towards my own shelf to resume my sorting. Who am I to stand in the way of her dumb pride.

"Okay then."

After another minute of secretly watching her failing efforts and aggravated mumbling, she turns to me with a resentful expression.

"…Don't just stand there, help me you dolt."

I raise an eyebrow and give her a look. Regardless of her attitude, I stand up and brush off my pants before going to help her anyways.

As I cross the shelves to Weiss's side, I hold out my hand for the book. Weiss offers it to me but turns her gaze away before I can say anything.

 _And she calls me the childish one._

I let out a huff of air and read the authors name before identifying its correct spot on the shelf, which is exactly where Weiss was trying to place it originally.

I'm not much taller than Weiss, but unlike her I'm willing to bend the rules a bit. I take another look around the library; the two shelves we were inbetween was pretty closed off from the rest of the room, and there was only one opening to the main area at the end of the tall book cases.

Willing to take my chances, I swiftly step one foot on the bottom shelf and hoist myself up to the next ledge.

"Ruby!? What the _hell_ are you doing?" Weiss hisses at me, frantically turning her head from side to side to make sure no one's watching. "Get down from there _right now_ you absolute _dunce!_ "

Ignoring her words of protest, I reach to push the book snugly into place on the top shelf. As soon as I slide it comfortably in, I turn my head around slightly, so I can start my descent back to the floor.

I take a shaky step down a shelf and pause briefly when I feel a hand on my back to help steady me.

Glancing over, I see Weiss with a concerned look on her face as she helps holds me in place. I feel my face grow warm at the contact. We haven't touched each other since our fight and my Weiss-withdrawal symptoms were becoming more apparent with each day that passed.

I manage to hop down the last ledge and turn myself completely around to be met with a full view of Weiss's glare.

"I can't believe you. What would have happened if you were to be caught, Ruby? What kind of example does that set for the council? And what if you'd gotten hurt?" Weiss flips some bangs out of her face and places her hands on her hips. "Honestly, I thought you would've learned by now."

 _She's just concerned and doesn't want to admit it… cute._

I continue watching Weiss nervously, who gives me a befuddled expression and raises an eyebrow at me.

"What?" She asks indignantly.

I shrug. "You're kinda cute when you're mad."

At the comment, Weiss looks like she might actually explode. With the combination of her reddening face and her increasingly furrowing eyebrows, she might as well be a balloon that's about to pop.

However, after a moment of thinking she's about to start yelling at me, instead, I watch as her shoulders sag slightly and her flushed face becomes even more disgruntled.

"…Shut up."

Weiss turns away from me and back towards her cart of books.

I'm starting to think I might have crossed a line, that I pushed my boundaries a little too far.

 _We're already fighting and you thought saying that was a good way to break the ice? Stupid, stupid, stupid._

I guiltily clear my throat and take a glance around to make sure no one was watching.

"Hey, Weiss… look, I'm sorry for getting mad like I did. I really am. If I could go back in time and tell myself how unreasonable I was being I'd do it in a heartbeat." I start sheepishly rubbing one of my sneakers on the carpeted floor. "I'm sorry, I just hate it when we fight."

Weiss doesn't look at me, just resumes idly thumbing one of the various books on the cart. "Ruby… I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?" I ask in confusion.

Weiss shakes her head and glares at the floor. "I'm frustrated at myself for behaving this way. I think your actions were justified enough, Neptune can get quite irksome and it was… ungracious of me not to think about how it might make you feel."

"I was feeling like a jealous idiot."

Weiss scoffs at this and finally turns to look me in the eye for the first time in days.

"Jealousy is only a lack of self-confidence, Ruby, which is definitely something I don't see in you."

The comment makes me physically rear myself backwards. There's no way this is how Weiss sees me.

"Your wrong though, Weiss. I've always been this way." Under her watching gaze I feel myself shrink. "I can never decide on anything. The science trip, joining the council, what I want to do when I'm out of high school, hell, even when I confessed to you I wasn't sure of myself."

A minute of silence falls between us and I look down at the floor. I feel Weiss's gaze on me, but I'm too ashamed to look her in the eye.

"I really am a good for nothing, aren't I?" I mutter.

This is the moment where the reality I could lose Weiss one day sinks itself into the back of my mind, and makes its home right in the middle of all my self-doubt.

She has no reason to be with me and there's plenty of other people, people that could treat her better than I can, waiting for someone like her to come along. I don't have money or social status of any kind, so what does she even get out of being with me?

I ball up my pants in my fists and start feeling unbidden tears poking at my eyes, causing me to clamp them shut to keep the dropplets from spilling over.

It's not until I feel arms looping themselves around my neck that I slowly blink my eyes open again.

Weiss buries her face into the collar of my shirt and squeezes me against her, making me stiffen.

"Don't talk about yourself like that, Ruby. I don't like it." Comes her muffled voice.

After taking a moment to get over the shock of what just happened, I slowly reach to wrap my arms around Weiss's back to return the hug.

"But-"

"No _buts._ You've shown me time and time again what it means to be yourself, Ruby." I feel Weiss's grip on me tighten and I let my head rest on her shoulder to accommodate. "Sure, you may be an imbecile when it comes to our relationship, but I know I'm not much better. And sure, you can be petty and _beyond_ needy sometimes, but never once have I seen self-doubt in you."

Weiss lifts her head from under my chin, causing me to lift mine that was resting on her shoulder.

Upon seeing my despondent expression, she slides both of her hands from around my neck to rest them on either side of my head. I feel her take a strand of my short, scruffy hair and begin rolling it between her fingers as she pulls us together so our foreheads are touching.

"I don't see self-doubt, I see Ruby Rose. I see a good heart with good intentions and I see someone who's willing to help others for nothing in return. Granted, I also see someone who can get unreasonably jealous and insecure. You're not perfect, Ruby, but I don't want you to be. You're always the one showing me how much you care, I just want you to know how much you mean to me too."

I feel myself practically whimper at her words and I nuzzle my forehead deeper into hers. Our bangs mingle together and I realize I can feel every unsteady breath Weiss takes.

It takes me a minute to compose myself, since I was scared I would start balling in the middle of the library if I tried to speak.

"Thank you." I eventually manage to rasp out.

Weiss nods her head against mine, a gesture to let me know she's accepted both my thanks and my apology. "I've never been with anyone before you, Ruby. I don't know the rules, the _boundaries_ , and I can't express myself very well. I'm just… not very sure what I'm doing."

I chuckle and swing us gently from side to side.

"I'm just as new to this as you are, Weiss, and besides," I finally dip my head down low enough so that we're eye to eye. "I think you're doing more than fine."

Just as I'm about to close the almost non-existent gap between us, a loud ringing jolts us both out of our daze.

With my hands dropping from Weiss's sides I turn around to see a buzzing coming from my backpack. I groan at the annoyance of being interrupted, but trudge myself over to the bag all the same.

Digging through my cluttered backpack, I eventually find my phone near the bottom and touch the screen to see who's calling.

After seeing who it is, I Giddily accept the call. As I hold my hand over the speaker to wait for it to pick up, I make a motion for Weiss to come over.

"My Uncle is calling, he's _really_ cool." I say proudly.

Weiss just raises an eyebrow at me and places her hands on her hips.

" _Ruby? Ruby, is that you?"_ Comes a slightly slurred voice from the other end of the line.

"Yeah, it's me. did you need something, Uncle Qrow?"

There's some mumbles on the other end of the line and Weiss gives me a funny look.

" _Listen Rubes, I'm not gonna be home tonight and Yang's tellin' me she's got work until later. Would it be possible for you to come home early and feed your little mutt?"_

I huff into the phone and impatiently tap my foot against the floor.

"Zwei's not a mutt, Uncle Qrow, he's a member of the family!"

For some reason, this seemed to pique Weiss's interest.

"You have a dog?" she asks.

I turn to her and catch an unexpected glimpse of excitement running across her features.

"Uh, yeah?" I confusedly respond.

" _Ruby?"_ Qrows voice questions.

"Oh, yeah, I can feed him. Don't worry about it."

" _Great, well I'll be going then. See you tomorrow, kiddo."_

"Bye, Uncle Qrow."

I hang up the phone and turn nervously towards Weiss, who's watching at me with earnest interest.

I hope she won't take what I'm about to say the wrong way, we've already had a lot of emotions today and I don't think I could handle another misunderstanding between us.

"Would you like to come over?"

I watch as Weiss takes a thoughtful moment to ponder on what I'd just said.

"...I don't see why not."

* * *

I swerve my bike into my driveway, only scarcely missing the curb before stopping.

I put my foot down to steady the bike, patiently waiting until I feel Weiss's hands let go of my shoulders and the familiar weight being lifted off the back before letting myself step off.

As I kick out the stopper it occurs to me that Weiss has never been to my house and, looking over at her, I realize she's staring at my home quite intently.

"I know it's not as nice as yours or anything…" I say, nervously rubbing the back of my neck.

"Nonsense," Weiss states, waving me off. "I think it's rather humble."

Looking over at the house's peeling green paint and garden beds full of dead bushes, I begin to question whether she's joking with me or not.

"If you say so."

We walk to the front door and, as I attempt to fish my keys out of my backpack, Weiss runs a hand along one of the pillars in front of the entryway.

"Having such a large house isn't always a good thing, you know. I would rather have a living space small enough where I don't have to walk a quarter mile to get to my kitchen."

I chuckle as I twist the key into the lock. "That's something only rich people say."

"I'm being serious!" Weiss counters hotly.

"So am I."

Pushing open the door, I yank the key out of the lock and hold the handle to let Weiss go in first. She nods her thanks, making me smile proudly, and as we step inside I tell her to take off her shoes at the door.

Weiss slips out of the pair of brown loafers she usually wore on days where she doesn't have on heels. My eyes fall to her legs, that were now only being covered by her black stockings. I feel my face heat up and I quickly turn around to take off my sneakers as well.

As I bend down to undo my laces, I hear a familiar thumping making its way down the stairs. I look over to see Zwei bumbling his way over to us.

"Oh my god!" Weiss exclaims in an unnaturally high-pitched voice.

I look over at her to find she's already jogging her way across the hall to meet my dog halfway. She bends down, letting Zwei jump into her lap and start licking her face, giggling all the while.

I stand up and raise my eyebrows at the incredibly uncharacteristic Weiss.

She had seemed interested in meeting him earlier, but I didn't expect her to be this excited about it.

She slides down onto the wood floor completely and I have to make even more of a conscious effort not to stare at her legs. The position only gives Zwei more room to attack her face with licks before he starts running in circles around her.

I make my way over and squat down next to them. "I didn't know you liked dogs?" I say as more of a question than a statement.

Weiss just lets Zwei climb back into her lap, so she can start scratching his head and babying him again.

"Oh, he's just the cutest thing ever. Yes, you are! _Yes, you are!_ "

I chuckle at the tone she uses and pick myself back up to walk over to the kitchen. I open the pantry door and scoop a cup of dog food out of the big bag we keep in the corner.

I'm about to dump it in his bowl, when I notice Weiss is still sitting on the floor in the hallway and petting Zwei behind his ears. He seems to really be taking to her, and vice versa, and the sight makes a ghost of a smile appear on my face.

"Would you like to feed him?" I ask, shaking the cup of food out in front of me.

Weiss looks over at me with wide eyes. "Is that okay?"

"Sure, it is." I chuckle. "Zwei loves whoever feeds him. I think it's the same principle with all dogs."

Weiss nods and stands up, proceeding to wipe all the dog hair off her skirt. Finding my eyes trailing downwards on her again, I force myself to turn away before impure thoughts start flooding my mind.

She walks over, Zwei trotting along behind her, and I reach out to hand her the cup. Weiss takes the dog food and thanks me before bending down to poor the food in the bowl.

The Corgi eagerly stumbles over to the bowl before beginning to devour the food in it.

"You know, he kind of reminds me of you." Weiss says.

I feel my face heat up and I look questioningly down at Weiss. "Are you saying I act like a _dog?_ "

"Somewhat." Weiss concurs, much to my dismay. "You're both incredibly clumsy and hyperactive. I've always thought it's an accurate assumption to say pets are like their owners."

I cross my arms and squint my eyes at Zwei, who's still scarfing down his food. "…I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"Well, I meant it as a compliment."

Weiss stands up beside Zwei's food bowl and glances around my kitchen, eyeing the old wall paper and dirty floor tiles. I grow increasingly self-conscious as she looks around, and I silently berate myself for inviting her over without cleaning up a bit first.

However, Weiss doesn't say anything, just continues looking around as we wait for Zwei to finish eating. Something catches her eye and she makes her way over to one of our old family pictures on the counter.

She picks up the frame and stares at it intently.

"Is this your dad?" She asks, holding the image towards me so I can see.

I walk over to her and sit down on one of the stools tucked into the counter. Upon closer inspection of the picture, I remember it being taken a few years ago after my dad finished paying off the house mortgage.

"Yeah, and my Uncle's the one behind him. My dad took us out to a fancy restaurant that day, to celebrate the house getting paid off. I think I was about ten in this."

Weiss stares at the picture with a melancholy expression. I'm about to ask what's upsetting her, until I remember what her relationship with her father was like.

"Your dad seems like an exceptional man, Ruby. I can see where you get it from."

I blush at the compliment and divert my gaze away from Weiss, to flustered and afraid I'd say something stupid.

I notice Zwei has finished eating his food and is lapping some water out of his bowl. I'm not exactly sure what we should do now; I want to take Weiss's mind off of her family situation, but only one activity is coming to mind.

"Hey Weiss, have you ever played any video games?"

* * *

It was obvious from the moment we started playing Weiss had absolutely zero idea of what she's doing.

I mean, she did say she had little to no experience, but I thought Mariokart would have to be a good bet either way.

The only console I have is an old GameCube that Uncle Qrow gave me when I was a lot younger, so I didn't have many newer games, but Weiss didn't seem to mind.

I had connected the console to the monitor in my room, and we both sat on the floor in front of it, leaning against the foot of my bed.

I was attempting to show Weiss how good I was at it, but every time I looked to her out of the corner of my eye, she was either staring confusedly at her controller or petting Zwei, who sat in her lap.

I was also having trouble keeping focus on the game itself. I wasn't naive enough to not think about Weiss being in my room. I just have to continuously remind myself not take advantage of the situation. Even so, I knew I was ultimately failing at keeping such thoughts out of my mind.

Looking over at Weiss now, I was beginning to get annoyed at the lack of attention she was giving me.

She's still sitting with Zwei on her lap, letting him lick her face as she scratches him behind the ears. I feel myself tense up and I start grumbling, but Weiss is too busy giggling and playing with Zwei to notice. Eventually, she looks up at the monitor and realizes I'm not playing the game anymore.

Turning to me with a confused expression, she realizes I'm already staring at her and simultaneously giving my dog a death glare.

"Are you done playing?" she questions.

I huff and set my controller down on the floor in front of me. "I don't know, are _you?_ "

Weiss ceases her scratching of Zwei's head and squints her eyes at me.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I hear myself let out somewhat of a growl and I swiftly stand up to close the short distance between me and Weiss. When I reach the foot of my bed I lean down and shoo Zwei away with my hand.

Zwei barks in my face before jumping off Weiss's lap and trotting his way out the door. Just before he leaves the room, he turns his head towards me and gives another bark, almost like he's mocking me.

Knowing my self-control is slowly dissipating with every moment, I turn back towards Weiss to see she's giving me an incredulous expression.

"Are you _seriously_ this intolerant? For god sake, he's a- _Ruby!?_ "

Before Weiss can finish, I step one foot over her and slide myself down so that I'm sitting on top of her legs.

Weiss doesn't move. Her eyes widen, and she looks almost petrified of the position I've put us in, not that I can blame her, I'm practically straddling her after all. This is the only way I can force her not to look away.

"Weiss… I kinda _really_ want to kiss you."

I watch as _the_ Weiss Schnee is left speechless. She scrunches her shoulders up and pushes herself back against the foot of my bed, trying to look anywhere but at me.

I lean towards her and press my lips against her cheek, brushing it lightly. The action was subtle, yet just that light touch sent shivers through my nerves that were severe enough to make my hands start to tremble. I hope Weiss doesn't notice it.

I hear her breath hitch and I pull back to look Weiss in the eye.

Our eyes finally lock, and we stare at each other for what feels like an eternity. Weiss's face is flushed red and her dilated eyes seem slightly more lidded than usual. From this close, I can even feel her slightly ragged and unsteady breathing.

The thought alone that I was causing her to act like this was enough to send waves of attraction and exhilaration to run through me. Everything about her in this moment was absolutely captivating.

I break our gaze to look down at her lips, as if to ask for permission, but her mouth was already waiting like a question in itself.

Weiss squeezes her eyes shut and I use one of my hands to swipe some hair out of her eyes.

Before I steal her lips, I lean forward to press a light kiss to the scar that ran down perfectly down one of her eyes. I always meant to tell her how alluring I found it to be.

When I finally kiss her mouth, everything goes oddly quiet, like the moment of silence between lightning and thunder.

Weiss's body is rigid. I can feel her scrunched up face twitch against mine, and her legs fidgeting together underneath me.

"Relax, Weiss…" I breath soothingly. "Trust me…"

She makes a mumbling noise into my mouth as I press my lips back down on hers, like they were a magnet drawing me back in.

"I promise I won't do anything you don't like."

I wrap my arms around her waist and move my hands to her back. I let them run in calming motions and I start to feel Weiss's guarded stance slowly melt away underneath me.

"Mmm… Okay…" She complies.

Weiss moves her hands upwards and wraps them around my neck, proceeding to pull us closer until I'm practically pinning her against the bed frame.

The kiss was soft at first, it was more like a fleeting touch, since we parted each time we shifted our heads. The tempo was awkward and clumsy, but as countless minutes go by, I start to feel more confident of myself.

Our lips continued to shift effortlessly together and Weiss clings harder to my neck as we gradually pick up pace. The motion encourages me, letting another surge of want, of _need_ , run through me.

I grasp my hands more comandingly into the back of her uniform and push her impossibly closer against the side of my bed.

My insistent mouth continues to part her shaking lips, sending wild tremors through my nerves and evoking sensations I had never known I was capable of feeling.

When it hits me that Weiss is kissing me back with just as much vigor, I feel my mind reel with giddiness that makes my head spin. My endearment to Weiss is the only thing that my mind can even halfway process in the moment.

I feel her, all of her, pressing against me. I inhale her strawberry scented conditioner, her lip gloss that tastes slightly of oranges, and an extra scent that's so pure and clean and… _Weiss._

"Mmn… R- Ruby…"

Weiss whines my name in a tone I've never heard come out of her.

 _Oh my god, she's so hot._

I press my lips harder into hers to deepen the kiss and I feel her slim back arching into me in an attempt to get closer. Her hands move from around my neck and into my hair, running some of her delicate fingers through it and clutching at the scruffy strands with her free hand.

It's like she's consuming me. She's everywhere; in my hair, over my arms, on my lips. It's like I'm a tiny grain of sand and she's a wave that crashes against me over, and over again, until I feel nothing but her.

It's as if weeks of hidden affections and fleeting touches have all come tumbling out in this moment.

What I had thought was something only I felt towards Weiss, is clearly something she was feeling too. We both want to be closer, more intimate, which is something Weiss has been avoiding since we started dating.

However, it's clear to me now the only reason for her avoidance must have been from fear, out of either rejection or inexperience I'm not sure, but the Weiss in front of me now is showing me she's clearly overcome whatever it was.

Not only am I enamored with the girl in front of me, but I'm so, _so_ , proud of her.

"…I like you a lot, Weiss." I breath between kisses.

I feel Weiss nod her head against mine and smile into my lips. "Mmn… Thank you."

I reluctantly pull away, not too far, but far enough where she could see the pout on my face.

"Thank you? That's the part where you're supposed to say _'Oh, yeah! I like you too! Also, you're an incredible kisser, Ruby, what would I ever do without you!'_ or something like that."

Weiss looks at me, exasperated. "I'm not saying that."

"Aww, why not?" I whine as I push my face into her neck.

"You're insufferable."

I laugh into her collar and pull myself back up to face her.

"And _you're_ in denial." I lean my head against hers and raise my eyebrows.

She doesn't respond, just blows some bangs falling into her face out of her eyes. I feel her shoulders slump and her grip around my neck loosening, making it seem as though she's about to pull away.

I quickly grab one of her arms, not wanting to let this moment pass by so quickly. It feels like I've been sitting here with Weiss for only a second, even though I know we've been doing this for well over what it feels like. Even so, I never wanted it to end.

"Hey, who said we were done?" I ask, moving in to kiss her again.

Weiss glares at me and holds up a hand in front of my mouth. "I did, now let me up."

I don't know where my boldness is coming from. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I'm still sitting on top of my super cute and super attractive girlfriend.

Regardless of why I feel this daringness, it's obvious to me that, even though Weiss is still acting in charge, I'm the one who holds the cards here.

I grab her shoulders and, as gently as I can possibly manage, push her onto my carpeted floor. Weiss makes a small noise of protest, but I put my hands on either one of her wrists to pin her in place.

Leaning down, I only stop as soon as my lips are hovering over hers, gently grazing them with each heavy breath we take.

"Tell me if you really don't want to." I murmur.

Weiss says nothing and continues glaring at me with a particularly prominent blush on her face.

"Good." I say before resuming our make-out session.

We start off slow again, and this time I feel even more in control. Weiss lets me continue holding her down and we start finding our tempo that gradually increases as we go along.

I got the feeling I would never get tired of this. Having Weiss all to myself and being able to kiss her for however long I want, it doesn't even feel real.

I've never experienced anything this intensely before. It's like every time our lips meet I feel myself start liking her all over again, and I'm completely entrapped by every movement and sound she makes.

It's at this very point I become so lost in Weiss that I fail to hear my door opening.

"Hey, Rubes? I wanted to- _OH MY_ _GOD!?_ "

Both me and Weiss's eyes shoot open and we stare at each other, taking a moment to process what just happened.

When we do realize, our heads both fling in the direction of my door.

Yang stands there, hand still on the door handle, gaping at us like a dead fish.

Mortified, none of us move for a moment, we just continue staring at each other in shock.

Yang shakes her head a few times and points between me and Weiss with squinted eyes, like she can't fully process what she's looking at. She then looks out my bedroom door and robotically nods her head.

"Right… Uhh, I'm gonna go somewhere that's not, uhm, here."

Yang slowly closes my bedroom door and I look back down to realize I'm still pinning Weiss to the floor. I practically levitate off of her and scramble my way to the door.

"YANG, WAIT!"

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," My sister holds a hand to her temple. "You two are… _actually_ dating?"

"…Yeah."

"Like, going out?"

"Uh-huh."

"As in, a romantic relationship?"

I feel myself frown.

"Gee, Yang, you don't have to make it sound so hard to believe." I mumble.

Currently, the three of us just finished having a _very_ awkward conversation in my kitchen.

Yang sits at the end of the counter, hands under her chin while staring at the two of us with skepticism, and Weiss and I sit on the opposite side of her.

"But it _is_ hard to believe. _You're_ dating Weiss Schnee? I mean, come on, me and Jaune would be a more likely pair than _that_."

Weiss clears her throat from her end of the table and gives my sister a stern look. "Regardless of my relationship status with Ruby, you have to promise not to tell _anyone_." She warns.

"Yeah, yeah, princess, I got that much." Yang waves her off and then looks between us again. "But you two? _Seriously?_ "

"Yang!" I complain, wanting this conversation to end as quickly as possible.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just… something else to come home and find you practically tackling the pres-"

"Forget about that, would you!?" Weiss grimaces from her side of the counter.

Yang just laughs, and I try to compile my thoughts about this whole situation. I'm surprised by the fact Yang seems to be taking this pretty well, or a lot better than I would have expected at the very least.

I fidget my thumbs together under the table and look down at my lap. "You're… not mad though? That I was, um, y'know… with _Weiss._ " I say, unable to formulate a coherent sentence.

Yang looks at me with an understanding expression on her face.

"Of course I'm not mad, Ruby. I mean, I'm more _surprised_ than anything. I've suspected you liked girls for a while, but I never thought the _president_ was your type."

"Yaaang!" I whine.

"Now that I think about it," She continues, ignoring my plea. "It does _kind of_ make sense. I mean, the fights you two get into, and the hand holding during the council picture."

"You _saw_ that?" Weiss asks, confounded.

"Well, yeah, and Blake saw it to. We thought it was weird, but I didn't think much of it at the time."

Weiss sets her head into her hands and shakes her head.

"Ugh, this is a disaster."

I reach over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

This was mostly my fault; I was the one who wanted to keep going after all. Weiss had said we should stop and I didn't listen to her because of my own stupid desires. I'll have to find some way to make it up to her later.

Looking up at her with a somewhat forced smile, I give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"It'll be okay, Weiss. Yang won't say anything, _right Yang?_ "

My sister just looks between us and a mischievous grin slowly makes its way onto her face.

"Oh, you two are just adorable."

* * *

 **200 favorites… I'm at a loss for words.**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next chapter~**

 **(Also, Ruby is a top and you can't convince me otherwise.)**


	16. Comfort

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 16: Comfort**

I wake up to a blaring noise coming from my phone. Not bothering to look at it, I lazily roll over in my bed to press the snooze button.

I'm usually a morning person, even on the weekends, but last night I stayed up late planning for the science festival. Weiss had already sent me an itinerary she'd made, but there had been a few more things I wanted to squeeze into the short trip.

The blaring sound occurs again and I blindly press my phone a few times to silence it, groaning all the while.

Last night, after reading a few of the activities Weiss had planned out for us, I'd gotten super excited and went on a sort of 'information spree' if you will. This convention is going to have everything from dissection tables and microscope exhibits to 3D printers and self-driving cars.

Mr. Oobleck had made it sound more like a chore to go, but after reading some of the stuff they have to offer, I'm actually kind of excited.

Once again, the beeping takes me out of my thoughts and I grimace as I sink myself lower under my covers. Reluctantly, I reach over and grab my phone off my nightstand, yanking the charger out as I do so.

My eyes widen at the warning on the screen.

"Oh, no. Weiss is gonna be pissed."

I fling the covers off my body and swing my legs over the bed, which almost makes me lose balance. Rushing across my room to the closet, I begin fumbling to put my clothes on. I was told not to wear anything to heavy, since we'll be walking around so much, so I opt for my usual T-shirt and some jeans.

After I'm dressed, I pack the last few items I need into my overnight bag and slip it on over my red shirt.

As I quickly pad down the stairs, trying not to wake anyone who might not be up, I'm surprised to already hear voices coming from the kitchen.

When I reach the archway, I peek my head around the corner and, to my surprise, both my Uncle and my sister are already awake and eating breakfast.

"Morning, kiddo. Quit staring and come eat before it gets cold." My Uncle says in his usual gravely voice.

No matter how appetizing a four-stack of pancakes looks, I know that if I'm any later than I already am, Weiss might actually have a cow.

"Sorry, Uncle Qrow. I'm going to be late if I don't leave now."

Yang looks at me and takes a big bite of her pancakes. She raises her eyebrows as a smirk grows on her face.

"Weiss is gonna put you through the ringer, eh sis?"

I glare at her, even though she's, like always, right.

"No, I just can't miss the bus. It'll be leaving soon, I think."

"That's a shame, you'd probably like it if she did."

My sister shrugs smugly and forks some more pancake into her mouth. I feel my face burn and I grip my backpack straps tighter.

Yang found out about my relationship with Weiss just the other week, and yet she's already teased me about it enough that I want to crawl under a rock and die most of the time she's around. She's never gone _too_ overboard, but just enough to where I'm either thoroughly embarrassed or mortified.

It gets the worst when we're in the club room, when both Weiss and I are forced to feign ignorance to her jeering. I know it's all in good fun, well, for _her_ , but it makes me nervous nonetheless.

"Quit staring into space, kid." My Uncle calls my attention back to him. "I'm sure you can spare five minutes for your family and a healthy breakfast before you go."

I anxiously look towards the door and then towards the incredibly tempting pancakes sitting on the table. I feel my mouth practically salivate at the delicious looking breakfast food.

 _Oh, what the hell._

I jog over to the counter and eagerly start cutting into the fluffy pancakes.

"This trip of yours," Qrow starts as I quickly shovel mouthfuls of food down my throat. "It's an overnight stay, yeah? And where is it again?"

I nod and lick some syrup that was dribbling down my finger.

"It's at the downtown Civic Center, a few hours away." I say through the food in my mouth.

"And you're staying with that friend of yours…"

"Weiss."

I can feel Yang snicker next to me and I elbow her in the ribs, causing her to grunt.

"Right, Weiss. And what's the, uh, convention called again?"

I groan and wipe my mouth off with a napkin.

"Uncle Qrow, I already told you all of this, like, five times."

He holds his hands up in mock surrender and grabs my, now empty, plate from my spot at the counter, taking it over to the sink to wash it.

"Geez, alright. Just making sure I know where you're running off to, so when your dad comes home and sees you're missing, at least I'll have an alibi."

I ball up my napkin and throw it at the back of my Uncle's head; he easily side-steps it, causing it to fly right past him and hit the window sill as he continues chuckling at me. I playfully stick my tongue out at him, jumping down from my stool and jogging over to the archway that leads to the front door.

I'm about to go put on my shoes and grab my bike, when Yang calls out to me from the kitchen.

"Wait, sis! I'm going to drive you, okay?" Yang walks over to her hook by the fridge to grab her keys. "It's foggy out, and I don't want you hurling yourself down another hill on accident."

I squint my eyes at my sister.

"That happened _once_ , okay? Stop bringing it up."

Yang waves me off and easily slips past me, heading for the front door.

"Yeah, Yeah. Just go get your helmet."

* * *

As Yang pulls up to the school on bumblebee, I see a huge black and white charter bus waiting in the parking lot.

There's a group of about fifty or so kids waiting by the bus, and a few adults standing around and chatting. They all have on either a backpack or some small suitcase of sorts and they all looked super excited to get going.

Seeing the other students only serves in making me more eager, and as Yang parks by a curb I put both my hands on the side of my helmet to tug it off.

"Easy there, Tiger." Yang says, turning around on her seat to help undo the buckle for me. "We got here with plenty of time to spare. There's no need for you to rush."

I finally pop the suffocating helmet off my head and quickly get off the bike, having to scooch back a little bit before putting my leg over the side. I take a second to smooth my shirt out and fix my backpack into a more comfortable position.

"Thanks for driving me, Yang. I'm gonna go sign in now."

I step my foot up onto the curb, about to start walking towards the crowd of people, when Yang grabs onto the back of my backpack, causing me to come to a halt.

"Not so fast, sis." She says, making me reluctantly look back at her. "As the older sister, I feel like it's my obligation to say this - but just because you're sharing a room with Weiss doesn't mean you're allowed do anything, understood?"

I feel my cheeks flame and I rip myself from Yang's grip, taking the opportunity to give her a half-hearted glare.

"I wasn't planning on _doing_ anything, alright?"

My sister chuckles and straps the helmet I was just previously wearing onto her head.

"Whatever you say, Rubes." Her voice is muffled by the helmet. "Just don't think I forgot about what I saw last week. I'm just trying to save you the embarrassment when the pres inevitably rejects your attempts to-"

" _Bye, Yang!_ " I call, swiftly walking away.

She scoffs behind me, and I ignore it in the hopes my face won't get any redder.

I hear her motorcycle engine sputter to life in a loud, borderline obnoxious, way and the sound fades as she pulls out of the drop-off area. I'm left standing by myself on the outskirts of the group of people that I assume must all be here for the trip.

I fidget with my backpack strap and bounce back and forth on my feet. I debate on if I should call or text Weiss but, of course, as soon as that thought comes across my mind, I spot a speck of white among the crowd.

Maneuvering my way closer to the bus, where I saw the familiar flash of color, I eventually find who I'm looking for.

Weiss stands near a small group of teachers, holding a clipboard and impatiently scanning the group of people standing around.

She's wearing a super cute button-down blouse with little polka-dots on it, and she also has on her usual white backpack that has her initials stitched into the front pocket. However, what really catches my attention is the fact that Weiss is wearing shorts.

I realize I've never seen Weiss in shorts before; I've only ever seen her wear skirts and stockings.

It was no secret to myself that I'm really attracted to Weiss's legs and I can already feel myself getting distracted by them. After a moment of admitted ogling, I force myself to look away from her.

"Ruby!" I turn my head back around to see Weiss briskly making her way over to me. "Where on _earth_ have you been? It's almost time to start loading up the bus. I was starting to get worried you had forgotten about the trip."

I meekly scratch my head and offer Weiss a shrug.

"Well, I might have, _accidentally,_ slept in a little." I say, making Weiss roll her eyes. "How could I have forgotten about the trip, though? I'm so excited that we finally get to spend some time together!"

Weiss just lets out an annoyed huff of air and makes a mark on her clipboard with her pen. I find my eyes wondering downwards again, only snapping them back up when Weiss looks over to squint at me.

"Is red the _only_ color you own?" She asks, pointing at my shirt with her pen. "And did you even bother to brush your hair this morning? You look like you were sleeping upside down."

Weiss sets her clipboard to the side and motions for me to bend forward. I do as she says, and I feel her start patting down my tousled hair.

"Mmm." I hum in contentment. "Thanks, Weiss."

She grunts, continuing to smooth down a cowlick forming on the back of my head.

"Whatever. Just take better care of yourself."

I nod as she pulls her hands away. I feel myself missing her touch already, but I don't worry about it too much, knowing that we'll be spending the next two days together.

I notice one of the teachers has started calling everyone to the front to form a line at the bus. Weiss grabs her clipboard and motions for me to follow her as she quickly walks it over to the teacher who had just spoken.

"I need to give the chaperones the attendance sheet, so we'll probably be getting on first. Do you have everything you need?" Weiss turns her head in question.

I blithely nod and pat my backpack strap, letting her know I already have everything we'll need for the next two days in it.

We finish making our way over to the man that's still calling for people to line up; once we get closer, I recognize him as one of the freshmen science teachers. He takes the clipboard from Weiss and thanks her.

"Much appreciated, Miss Schnee. You two can go ahead and get on, I'll finish roll call from here."

As we make our way onto the broad and heavy looking charter bus, Weiss points to our seats, which are close to the back of the huge vehicle. We make our way over to them and Weiss lets me step into the seats before she does, so I have the window seat.

As I sit down I shove my bag under the chair in front of me while restlessly bouncing on my own. Weiss sits down by me and shoots me a glare, in turn causing me to visibly still as I give her an apologetic grin.

"Sorry, I'm just so excited, y'know? I was barely able to sleep last night." I admit.

"From the looks of it, I would more hastily assume you had consumed a heinous amount of sugar before getting here."

I grin at this. It's almost as though Weiss knows me to well.

"Well, I _did_ have pancakes this morning." I giggle.

Weiss shakes her head at me and returns to situating herself.

Slowly but surely, the bus starts filling up with students. I notice most of the kids I've seen are underclassmen with a few chaperones and teachers mixed in, Mr. Oobleck included.

After going over some safety rules, and the somewhat irritated driver going over some of her own rules, we start making our way out of the parking lot and onto the road.

I text my Uncle to tell him we're on our way and then take a glance over at Weiss, who's pulled out her laptop and was typing something on it. It looks like a spreadsheet or something, making me frown as I lean in to get a closer look.

"What are you… Are you doing _homework_ while we're on a fieldtrip?" I ask incredulously.

Weiss uses one of her hands to shove my face away from the screen.

"It's for Music Fest. I'm going to outline the event on the drive, we do have a few hours, after all."

"Weiss, That's months away! Why don't we spend the time watching Netflix or something? This trip is supposed to be fun, not full of work."

Weiss continues typing away, only when she's finished with her sentence does she glance over at me.

"This is something that needs to be done. If you don't want to do work that's fine, but just don't bother me with whatever you do."

She goes back to typing and I feel a pout forming on my face. I let out a grunt as we pass over a speed bump and look out the window to see we're close to getting on the interstate.

I take to watching Weiss type away for a while, switching between her and the passing scenery. Eventually I get bored and I take out my earbuds to play some music. I offer one of the buds to Weiss, but she shakes her head.

As I listen to the music, I feel my fatigue catch up to me from not sleeping all night, and I find myself slowly leaning against the window as I drift off.

* * *

" _Ruby…"_

Someone shakes my shoulder, making me grumble and try to shrug them off.

" _Ruby… get up…"_

Just five more minutes, five more minutes will be fine…

" _You dunce…_ we're here!"

 _Here?_

I blink my eyes open slowly, being greeted by a concerned looking Weiss leaning over me.

"Huh!?" I say, looking around frantically to try and gain my bearings.

"You fell asleep on the way here. One of the teachers is already getting our room keys, so we need to go line up outside."

We're already here? It felt like I'd only been asleep for a few minutes.

I blink my eyes a few times and rub them with the backs of my hands as I turn to look out the window.

What I see makes my jaw almost drop.

I knew the festival was being held at a Civic Center, but I never expected it to be a four-story building with a grand entrance and huge courtyard.

The building itself was fairly modern, with gigantic glass windows lining the different floors and smooth marble pillars that surrounded the huge entrance. The courtyard was full of lush trees and benches that surround some of the grassier areas that had people sitting in groups or working on projects.

There seems to be people with all sorts of uniforms and casual clothing just walking and chatting excitedly. Most of the people had pins and lanyards on with, what I'm guessing to be, the festival symbol on them. The symbol looks like an atom with a lizard wearing a pair of goggles in front of it, and the sight makes an even wider grin appear on my face.

The most eye-catching aspect of the whole building was a huge fountain that was in front of the entrance. From where the bus is parked, it's hard for me to get a good view and I feel Weiss tugging on my sleeve, trying to get me to leave the vehicle with the rest of our group.

I grab my bag from under the seat in front of me and eagerly follow Weiss out of the charter bus.

I shield my eyes as we exit and as soon as we reach the ground I feel something being placed over my head and around my neck. Looking down, I recognize it's a lanyard, similar to the ones I saw other people wearing.

"Welcome to the annual Science and Engineering Festival, Ruby! I'm so glad you decided to join us!"

Mr. Oobleck grins at me and I thank him for the lanyard, now noticing that Weiss, and about everyone else who's gotten off the bus, has one on as well. I turn mine over to see that it has our names and our school names printed onto it.

My teacher reaches into a separate bag he's holding and hands us both flimsy looking caps that match the lanyards.

"There! Now you two match!" He says gleefully.

Weiss eyes the cap distastefully and reaches around to stuff it into her backpack.

I take another glance around, to look at what must be hundreds of people, and that's not even including the people already inside the ginormous building. There are banners and music that can be heard from what sounds like many different directions. It's all very overwhelming.

And from here, I can get a better view of the fountain. It's huge with different levels, rocks adorning the sides, and many different water sources merging together into its center pool.

There are tons of kids standing around it, taking pictures together and making silly poses. An urge rises in me of wanting to take lots of pictures with Weiss as well, but now doesn't seem to be the time.

A tap on my shoulder turns me back around to see Mr. Oobleck, handing me what looks like a small paper envelope.

I take it and turn it questioningly in my hands.

"What's this for?"

"Were you even listening, Ruby?" Weiss snatches the folder from my hand and pulls out a small card. "It's our room key. We need to go check in before we're allowed into the festival."

"Ah, Miss Schnee is quite right. The hotel is around the backside of the Civic Center, we'll be heading over as a group momentarily. Once all that nonsense is taken care of, your lanyards will act as a pass into the festival, and you're free to check out whatever you like."

One of the teachers calls out to Mr. Oobleck and he excuses himself to walk over to the rest of the chaperones.

I cheekily turn to Weiss, who's just finished shoving the cap into her bag.

"Oh? You don't want to match?" I ask, pulling my own cap over my head.

Weiss raises an eyebrow at me leans over to pull the bill of the head-wear up, brushing my bangs to the side underneath it.

"Hmph. It might not be the most fashionable article of clothing, but at least you can't see your awful bedhead."

The teachers call all the students standing around the bus to start following them to the hotel we'll be staying in. I find it in my best interest to keep pestering Weiss, seeing as she's somewhat humoring me.

"C'mon you can't fool me, I know you wanna wear yours too." I say as we start following the line of students.

"As if." Weiss waves me off.

"You don't want to match with me? You'd be so cute in it, though!"

I see the tips of Weiss's ears turn a slight shade of pink and she turns to me with a skeptical expression.

"You think so?"

"Definitely!" I merrily nod my head.

I continue teasing Weiss until we make it to our hotel behind the Festival, absolutely loving her slightly out of character bashfulness.

The teachers stop all of us in the lobby, and once all the students seem to quiet down, they give us some simple instructions: boys on one floor, girls on another, and there's to be no visiting any other room besides your own. For an overnight trip, it almost seems like the rules were a bit _too_ thorough, but everyone nods and grumbles all the same.

I end up following Weiss, who leads us to our room.

The hotel itself is nothing special. It's one of the layouts where there's a huge empty space in the middle full of chairs and greenery, and the rooms surround the outside of the open area, with railings you could look over into it.

As we enter the elevator with a few other students, I lean over to tap Weiss on the shoulder. When she turns to me, I jump, landing hard enough to make the elevator shake a little bit. I grin, but Weiss doesn't find it as funny as I do. She elbows one of my arms and apologizes to some of the other students in the elevator, who are laughing along with me.

This starts a series of people jumping, trying to get the elevator to cease up, and giggling when they succeed. Weiss grips one of the handles along the wall, shooting me a death glare that I promptly try to ignore.

Once we exit, we follow along the lengthy hallway, Weiss looking at the door numbers and me looking over the railing to the ground floor.

Eventually, Weiss finds the right number and slides the room key into the door, pushing it open after hearing the satisfying click.

After taking a moment to look over her shoulder at the room, I push past her and eagerly enter.

"Wow… It's so big!" I exclaim, running over to one of the two beds and flopping onto it.

The sheets match the rest of the beige colored room and were super soft and fluffy, reminding me of my own bed back home. I roll onto my back, my backpack propping me up a little, and I watch Weiss survey the room. She eyes it carefully before walking over to the window and pulling the curtains aside.

"I guess it will do for an overnight trip. On the bright side, we have a wonderful view of a Denny's parking lot."

"Oh, come on, Weiss." I say, sliding myself off the side of the bed. "I get that it's small, but it's way nicer than what I was initially expecting. How are you not excited?"

Weiss shrugs and walks over to the other bed to set her bag down. She opens it and starts rummaging through it.

"Who says I'm not excited? I don't have to literally be jumping on elevators to show that kind of thing you know."

I groan at Weiss's reasoning and flop back down onto my bed. I can tell Weiss is about to chew me out for how misbehaved I've been acting, but a knock on our door makes us both pause.

Weiss walks over to it, looking out the small peephole before opening the heavy door. I roll over to the end of my bed, so I can see who it is.

Mr. Oobleck stands cheerfully outside of our room, handing Weiss a pamphlet by the looks of it.

"Here is your official festival schedule, girls! This lists all the shows, exhibits, and activities that are being offered and where they can be found. I believe there is a map on it as well, yes?"

Weiss nods her head and politely thanks our teacher.

"Yes. Thank you, Mr. Oobleck. This will definitely come in handy."

"Weiss and I already made our own schedule!" I call from the room, waving at my teacher as well, so he notices my presence.

Mr. Oobleck doesn't seem fazed at all, in fact, he looks absolutely thrilled by the idea of us making our own itinerary.

"Splendid! You girls never cease to amaze me. Just keep in mind you're free to do whatever it is you'd like, just make sure you're at the hotel restaurant by eight o'clock sharp tonight. We'll be taking attendance and having dinner then."

"You got it, Mr. Oobleck!" My yelling causes Weiss to turn around and give me a disapproving look.

"Thanks again." She says, before waving and shutting the door.

Curious, I hold out my hand and motion for Weiss to hand me the pamphlet, but she ignores me and continues flipping through it. I rest my chin on my hands and make a whining sound.

"Weiss, we're not gonna need that, we already made our schedule. You got the one I sent you right?"

"Yes, I did." Weiss says, tossing the pamphlet onto her bed and rummaging through her bag once more.

"Are you good with it? I changed a few things…"

"I already told you we're not visiting the reptile house, no matter how well you try to sneak it in, but other than that it seems fine."

I pout as I reach over to where Weiss had haphazardly thrown the pamphlet, picking it up and rolling onto my back as I look through it.

Weiss takes out her purse from her bag and starts putting a few things in it; some of her makeup, a small coin pouch, and some other odds and ends.

"Do you think you can fit my wallet in there?" I ask, looking up from the pamphlet.

I hadn't thought about brining another bag to carry things with me into the festival, and if Weiss doesn't want to carry any of my stuff, I'm not going to make her. Surprisingly, Weiss holds out her hand and looks at me knowingly, almost like she was expecting me to say that.

"I'll hold one thing. Nothing else, understood?"

I obediently nod, sitting up and dragging my backpack to me across the bed. I take out my wallet and hand it to Weiss, who shoves it in before zipping the purse and placing it over her shoulder.

Weiss then walks over to a large mirror inside the small hallway that leads to the door, looking into the reflective surface to start primping her hair. I slide myself off my bed and make my way over to her.

I lean against the wall behind her, patiently waiting for her to be done. While I'm waiting, I open up the camera on my phone and stealthily raise it until I see both of our reflections in the mirror.

Weiss, not one to be easily fooled, turns her head, eyeing me questioningly.

"Say cheese!"

The flash goes off on my phone, momentarily blinding me and Weiss. She blinks a few times and gives me a look somewhere between annoyance and questioning.

"…Ruby, what on earth are you doing?"

"I wanted to take a picture! We don't have any photos of us, so I want to get some on our first trip together."

Weiss sighs and continues fixing her hair.

"I don't see why photos are necessary, but if it's _that_ important to you, so be it."

I feel a smile grow on my face and I take a few more while Weiss works on her bangs. She's not looking at the camera at all, but at least she's in them.

Eventually getting bored, I walk back over to grab my souvenir cap off the bed, so that I'll be prepared as soon as Weiss is ready to head out. As I put it on, I notice Weiss's cap is sitting at the top of her bag, and a sneaky plan forms in my head.

Grabbing the head-wear, I make my way back behind Weiss. While she's distracted, I swiftly slip the cap on, eliciting a small yelp of surprise from Weiss.

"There! Now you don't have to worry about your hair!"

A proud grin makes its way onto my face, only to be replaced with regret moments later as Weiss gives me a thump to the forehead.

* * *

In the end, Weiss decides to wear the cap, claiming it would be too much of a hassle to redo her hair.

When we get to the Civic Center, I'm immediately reminded of how crowded this festival actually is. Weiss and I are forced to squeeze through a few people just to make our way into the line where the security is checking lanyards.

While we wait, I glance up at the huge banner hanging between some of the buildings marble pillars. It reads, _23 Annual Science and Engineering Festival, Welcome!_ I take out my phone to take a picture of it, only managing to get one good shot before Weiss drags me along with the line.

Once we make our way inside the building, I'm amazed by what I see, there are booths completely lining the huge carpeted room. I would easily compare it to the size of a football field, but instead of fake grass and metal benches, this field is full of exhibits, strange animals in cages, gigantic microscopes, and tables that were full of advanced looking computers and vehicle models.

It looks like something straight out of a mad house, but at the same time it was just plain awesome.

I excitedly reach into my pocket to pull out my phone, so I can look at my schedule.

As I pull it out, someone bumps into my shoulder, causing me to drop it. They give me an apology and pick it up, offering me another sorry as they hand it back to me. Unfazed, I thank them and continue to open up my phone to look at our schedule.

Only when I glance back up do I realize how crowded it really is in here. There are only small pathways big enough for a few people to walk through at a time, otherwise you're standing in a mass of people, like Weiss and I are now.

I look over at Weiss to see her trying to shrink away from people, but ultimately seeing as that's near impossible, she ends up being shoved around as roughly as I am. The distressed look on her face as she stares at the ground is enough to tell me how uncomfortable she is in the crowd.

A look of concern crosses my face and I reach over to place a hand on her arm.

"Are you alright, Weiss? We can go somewhere with less people if you want."

Weiss looks up from the floor with a grimace and feebly nods her head.

I give her an understanding look and a smile before looking around for somewhere to go.

"It might take me a minute to find somewhere with less people." Even as I speak I feel someone accidentally step on the back of my shoe. "Here, hold onto my arm so we don't get separated." I offer.

Weiss gladly accepts, grabbing onto my forearm with one hand. Her grip feels so fragile, yet I find it reassuring that she's putting this amount of trust in me.

I begin walking through the crowd, eyeing some interesting exhibits as we pass, but those can wait for later. After stepping my way around hundreds of students and teachers, muttering probably a dozen apologies as I do so, I manage to find a quiet corner near some empty stalls and tables.

I see an empty pair of chairs at one of the tables and make my way over to it, letting Weiss sit down in the one adjacent to mine. I turn my chair so that I'm facing hers and rub my hand on her back in soothing motions, they seem to calm her down the other times I've done it.

"What's wrong, Weiss? Are you having a panic attack? Do you have your medicine on you?" I hate barraging her with questions, but I figure it's better to ask while she's still lucid.

However, Weiss shakes her head and looks over at me.

"I'm not having an attack. I just… I'm not good with crowds like that."

I eye her questioningly, knowing that I've seen Weiss in crowds plenty of times. The student council party, the basketball game, Nora's party, even her father's banquets as she describes them being, they're all filled with people.

"Don't give me that look." Weiss says in a harsh tone, making me wince. "It's not like I'm not used to large crowds or anything, but being so… so _close_ to that amount of people is just… it's a bit out of my comfort zone, I guess."

I take my hand off Weiss's back and stare begrudgingly at the mass of people meandering around to different booths. I want to figure out a way to make Weiss feel better and I feel the only way she'll take me seriously is if I can somehow relate to her.

"Comfort zones are comfortable because they're familiar, not because they're healthy, Weiss."

Weiss lets out a deep breath, almost akin to a sigh, but not quite. She changes her gaze to the crowd of people and watches as they pass.

"It doesn't matter. I can't help it either way. It's something out of my control."

"I think saying it's out of your control is a bit much..." I say, frowning. "I'm not saying that I want you to walk into a situation you're not comfortable in. If you would rather leave right now and sit in the hotel room the rest of the day then so be it. But you're stronger than that, Weiss. I know you are. It might be something that's difficult for you, but you can always change it, even if it's only something as small as being in a crowded room, you can change it. I know you can."

"I can't." Weiss hisses at me. "You don't think I've tried? _I can't._ I can't change it because I'm pathetic."

I feel like I'm getting nowhere with her. Not that I blame her, if I were in her shoes I would probably feel the same way.

Maybe I can't convince her to let it go for now… but maybe I can try a different tactic.

"How about this," I slowly say, grabbing her hand and placing it in mine.

I let them rest on the table, and I feel Weiss try to pull away.

"Let go. There are still people from our school here, someone could se-"

Instead of letting her pull away, like I normally would, I grip her hand tighter and look her straight in those piercing blue eyes.

"How about," I say, rolling our hands over slightly. "I hold onto you like this, and we can slowly make... this your comfort zone."

The more I speak the more I cringe at what I'm saying, but I hold my ground all the same.

Weiss just stares at our hands. At this point, she's stopped resisting and her gaze only flickers a few times to the large mass of people not to far away. Eventually, I feel her slowly lace her fingers with mine, giving me a small squeeze back.

"Ruby, this is... really dumb, actually. Dumb, but also really sweet. I… I think this will be okay."

I give her my most genuine smile yet and I lean over to give her a small peck on the cheek. She only lets a moment of surprise flash across her features before she looks towards the chattering crowd again.

Knowing the nervous look on her face all too well by now, I give her hand another reassuring squeeze.

"It's okay to be scared, Weiss. It just means you're about to do something really, really brave."

* * *

We decide to head up to the top floor first. It has the least amount of people and probably the more obscure exhibits. Weiss decides that we'll stick to everything on our schedule, however, doing it out of order couldn't hurt.

We take a few escalators to get to the top room, and Weiss holds my hand the whole way. Starting to feel my excitement return, I start yanking her along through the much more thinned out crowd as we reach the top floor.

This floor seems mostly dedicated to different technology. I see a lot of people playing various games and looking at all sorts of equipment that I don't even know how to describe. There's music being blared from multiple different directions and people that are chatting loudly, yelling occuring occasionally.

There's enough noises going on that every time Weiss and I chat, we have to lean into whoever's talking to hear.

The first thing we come across is a cool robotics booth. There are multiple rows of robots lined up along the side of it and it takes up a good amount of space. There's what looks to be a college student, wearing thin glasses and a gladiator shirt, running the booth, alongside some other college students.

Weiss and I are told about the inner workings of what goes into robots and after he's done giving us an explanation, we get to make our own miniature robots. I put a claw on mine and give it a circular head that I drew a face on. Weiss, not leaving much to creativity, makes her exactly like one of the examples he's shows us.

When we leave the booth, I reach over and lace Weiss's fingers with mine again; this time she seems much more willing to let me and actually looks over to give me a nervous smile. I feel my excitement grow, knowing Weiss is having as much fun as I am, and I start speeding up my pace to our next activity.

Weaving our way around a few tables and groups of people, we spot one of those makeshift escape rooms, the ones where people get clues and have to figure a way out in a certain period of time. When we see how long the line is for it, we both look at each other, in a way that suggests it will take too much time if we really wanted to do it.

"I mean, we can always go visit the insect house." I say, motioning my head to a small tent that hold various cages and tanks.

Weiss looks at the room disapprovingly before letting her eyes roam the rest of the area.

"How about that?" She asks, pointing to a sign above an open door. The sign says _Room of Mirrors_ and I eagerly nod my head in approval.

"Wow, it's like one of those funhouses at the fair!" I exclaim as we walk in.

The room seems to be set up as a sort of maze and there's a few little kids making funny faces into the mirrors and some other students roaming through it.

Weiss and I go to the start sign and begin walking our way through. I take a few photos of us in the mirrors, and I think I actually get Weiss smiling in one of them.

There's a section that splits off into three pathways and we decide to go through different ones to see who could find the end faster. I pick the one to the left and Weiss picks the one in the middle.

After walking in circles for a few minutes I stumble back upon Weiss with her back turned to me, looking questioningly down two different paths.

I slowly make my way up to her and place my hands on her shoulder, leaning over to whisper in her ear.

" _Boo._ "

Weiss yelps and, out of surprise, throws herself back against one of the mirrors.

"Ruby!? Don't do that! You about gave me a heart attack."

I go into a laughing fit, but apologize good-naturedly as we continue to find our way out together.

When we reach the end, which is right next to the start door, a lady in a festival shirt hands us both a pin for our prize. The pins have a picture of that lizard on it from the festival logo; I put mine on my lanyard and Weiss puts hers in her purse.

After that, we go down to the third floor and look at a few tables and exhibits there.

We do this cool physics experiment where we make a paperclip float on water. The older girl running the experiment had us first drop one in a jar and it immediately sank to the bottom, but then she had us put a small paper towel on top of the water before we set the paper clip in, and that time it floated.

The lady explained it's because the water molecules at the top of the water are denser than the rest, and that's why it's being held in place.

After we move on, Weiss starts complaining about how any person with two brain cells could've figured that out. I don't pay much mind to her complaints, knowing that if she's comfortable enough to do so, I shouldn't worry to much about her.

We look at a cool kaleidoscope table that lets you look at different patterns and designs, and after that we go to the neighboring microscope exhibit that lets you look at different kinds of cells.

I get a cool pin with an image of mitochondria wearing sunglasses on it and I place that on my lanyard as well. I make Weiss put hers on her hat and she only briefly complains before letting me do it anyways.

I make sure to get photos of each booth we visit and, admittedly, a lot of an unknowing Weiss, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

As we head down the escalator to the second floor, I bump Weiss's shoulder with mine to get her attention.

"Weiss, look over there!"

I point with our intertwined hands towards a tent labeled _Reptile House_.

"Absolutely not." Weiss deadpans.

"Oh, come on. Please? I heard they have a lizard that's supposed to look like the mascot in there, and they have some of those flashy colored frogs!"

Weiss rolls her eyes at me.

"Frogs are amphibians, Ruby. And don't bright colors usually mean they're poisonous?"

We reach the end of the elevator and I drag her around some groups of people, stopping at the edge of the tent.

"Pleaseee, Weiss?" I ask, pulling my puppy dog eyes on her.

Weiss's face scrunches up, and after a few seconds she lets out a long breath and shrugs.

"Oh, whatever. Don't expect me to touch anything, though."

I lean in and give her a quick kiss on the cheek, earning me a smack on my forearm that I blissfully ignore.

We go around to the different tanks; they have snakes, lizards, turtles, and even frogs in a separate section that's labeled as amphibians.

Most of the experience consists of me shoving my face up to the glass and trying to provoke the animals as Weiss reads off its information. After going around to most of the tanks we end up at one towards the end that's said to hold the festivals mascot lizard.

We have to wait for a few people to move out of the way until we're able to get a good look. There's a spiky looking lizard in it, basking under a heat lamp. It's about two feet long and its mouth is hanging slightly open.

Weiss looks over at the information sheet on the side of its cage.

"It's called a Bearded Dragon, they normally live in the desert and they eat live insects and mealworms." Weiss shivers at the thought.

I laugh and take out my phone, getting a quick a photo of it.

"Well at least now we've seen the face of the festival, right?"

"I suppose. Although it's already past seven, we need to hurry up if we want to see everything. Dinner's at eight tonight."

I pout and put my phone away as I reluctantly follow Weiss outside of the Reptile House.

We find a few more exhibits while walking around on this floor, and we even get to play around with some super powerful magnets at one of them.

I end up buying a set of cheap ones that make a cool noise when you throw them together. Weiss quickly gets tired of this and takes them from me, putting them in her purse and saying she'll give them back later.

By the time we reach the bottom floor again, the amount of people has really thinned out. Seeing as this makes Weiss visibly calmer, I reach over for her hand again.

We take our time on this floor, wanting to enjoy the last of what the festival has to offer, even though we also have some time tomorrow to look around.

As we walk, I notice a small table across the room. There's a middle-aged man sitting behind it and seemingly messing around with some petri dishes. I tug on Weiss's hand, motioning where I want to go and letting her fall into step beside me.

When we reach the table, it appears that the man is cleaning up, but when he sees us he gives an eager wave and motions us over.

"Hello, ladies! Is there anything you would like to know about the fascinating science of meteorology?"

I glance at Weiss briefly, who only offers me a shrug.

"I guess? I noticed you had some petri dishes and I was wondering what they were." I say.

The man lets out a jovial laugh and slaps his knee loudly.

"Well, why didn't you just say so? Pull up a chair, pull up a chair!" he excitedly waves us closer and motions to a few seats tucked under the front of his table.

We sit down, and he begins pulling out something from a cooler he has off to the side. Weiss and I glance at each other nervously, but I was to curious to turn back now.

The man pulls out a few clear plastic cups, a tin of shaving cream, a water bottle, and a pack of food coloring, setting it all down on the table in front of us.

"Now before I show you what's in the dishes, young lady, how about a little experiment, hmm?"

"Okay…" I say, slightly confused.

"First, we fill the cup halfway with water." The man explains.

Both Weiss and I take a moment to fill up our cups halfway and look back to the man for the next step.

"Then we fill the rest of the cup with shaving cream." He does it to his own, and both of us follow in suit. "Now I want you to put a few drops of food coloring on top of the shaving cream and watch as science runs its course!"

From the pack of colors, I pick out the red and Weiss picks the blue. We both put a few drops on top of the shaving cream, as the man told us, and I watch as the coloring slowly seeps through the thick substance and down into the cup.

The red appears to be falling from mine and into the water, forming little streaks of color in the cup.

"I don't get wh-"

"It's rain." Weiss says.

I look over at Weiss's cup and see the same thing occurring in hers, only this time the blue coloring makes it a lot more apparent as to what's being displayed.

"That's correct, ma'am." The man takes the blue coloring from Weiss and puts it into his own cup. "The shaving cream acts as a 'cloud' and the air pockets let the coloring seep through, giving the illusion of rain."

He gives another loud laugh and begins putting the materials away.

"But enough of that amateur experiment, take a look at this."

He reaches into the cooler and takes out a stack of the petri dishes. He puts the stack on the table and hands one to both of us. Upon closer inspection, I see a few small specs in the dish, and I squint my eyes at it, trying to make out what I'm seeing.

"It's a snowflake?" Weiss questions.

"Correct. They're quite easy to capture, actually. Just let one drop onto a piece of tape and poor glue over it before it gets the chance to melt. Just stick it into the freezer for a few hours and - _bam!_ \- You got yourself a small piece of science!"

Holding it closer to my face, I can see the outline of the flake. It's small, yet intricate, and I can't imagine how detailed it would look like if this guy had a microscope.

"Whoa," I say, holding mine over to Weiss so she can see. "Look how cool it is!"

The man chuckles again and leans forward to pick up one of the dishes for himself.

"Now you could like a snowflake just because it's pretty, but it doesn't take away from its beauty that it's sculpted by chance and physics. To me, that adds to the beauty." He says, twisting the specimen around in his hand. "I have to say, this whole _'we're all unique snowflakes'_ thing is pretty cheesy. It might be the most overused metaphor in the history of metaphors, so how about I give you a new one?"

I eagerly nod my head and Weiss looks to the man expectantly.

"Snowflakes are symmetrical, but they're not perfect. They're ordered, but they are created in disorder, and every random branch re-tells their history, that singular journey that they took to get here, and most of the time they're fleeting and temporary. Even if sometimes they don't look so unique on the outside, if we look on the inside, we can see that they're truly unique after all."

The man gives us an encouraging smile and I see Weiss looking thoughtfully at her specimen. I definitely agree with everything this man has told us so far, and this is no exception.

"You can keep those, I've been meaning to give them a good home." He says, putting the rest of the dishes away. "And you can also have these, I was saving them for tomorrow, but I think I'll just give 'em to you."

He takes out a set of bracelets from under the table, placing them down in front of us.

The band was made of multiple threads of string and they each have a snowflake charm on the end of them.

I pick one up and the way it catches the light in the huge dim room is actually stunning. It seems like too nice of an item for me to take, and I carefully set it back down on the table.

"Thanks for everything, sir, but I can't take these." I say.

"Nonsense, it's my last set, and I want you to have them." He says, pushing them back towards us. "I just hope you'll consider meteorology at some point in the future, we could use some kids like you."

* * *

Sitting at our table in the hotel's restaurant, I absentmindedly tug at the new bracelet on my wrist.

"I can't believe he gave these to us." I say in disbelief.

Across the table from me, Weiss looks up from her menu.

"He seemed like a nice man. Very passionate about his work." She says, eyeing her own bracelet. "But you do know when we get back to school we can't wear these, right?"

The thought makes me frown. I've had so much fun acting as I please around Weiss, the thought of having to go back to hiding our relationship again makes uneasiness rise in me.

"I guess… Maybe you could hide it under your blazer or something?" I suggest.

Weiss takes a sip of her water and shakes her head.

"I don't want to risk it, sorry."

She actually does sound apologetic and I gently kick her shoe with mine under the table. Weiss looks at me annoyedly and closes her menu.

"Enough about that. Did anything at the festival catch your interest as a possible career?" She asks.

I make a _hmm_ sound as I rest my arms on the table and tilt my head to think.

"I mean, as cool as meteorology sounds, I'm not sure if I can see myself working in something like that…"

"Physics?" Weiss questions.

I make another indistinguishable noise and slowly lean down to rest my head on my arm, using my other hand to fidget with my bracelet.

"What about you?" I question, changing the subject. "What are you planning on doing when we get out of high school?"

Weiss takes another sip of water and swirls her straw around in the drink.

"I'll be attending Beacon University. A business degree will suit me just fine."

This is the first time I'm hearing about this, and I feel a small surge of irritation that I didn't know such an important thing about Weiss seep into my mind.

It's so unfair how Weiss already knows what she's planning on doing, and has it handed down to her nonetheless. I'm still here trying to figure out if I even want to do something in the subject I'm best in.

I let out a whine and look up to see Weiss's disapproving look.

"For what it's worth," She begins. "I don't think it's ever too late to decide what you want to be. I know you will eventually find a life you're proud of, and if you don't, I know you'll have the ability to start over."

I lean over and grab Weiss's hand with my own, looking up at her smugly.

"We're so sappy today, huh?"

Weiss doesn't respond, but I feel soft kick against my shoe under the table, causing me to grin and give her a light kick back.


	17. No Funny Business

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 17: No Funny Business**

After we finish dinner, Weiss and I head back to our room.

As soon as I hear the familiar click of the door opening, I trudge around Weiss and flop face-first onto my bed.

"Ugh, I'm so tired." I whine. "Walking around all day really does take a lot out of you."

Weiss comes in after me and takes her cap off, setting it on a dresser that our television is on top of. She immediately follows by pulling out her hairband that holds up her ponytail, letting the silky strands flow freely down her back.

"If you had gotten more sleep last night maybe you wouldn't be so tired." She says, setting her purse down near her backpack.

"I already told you - I stayed up late 'cause I was too excited to sleep." I mumble into my bed sheets.

"Well, maybe you should learn better self-control skills then."

"Mmm?" I murmur, pulling my head lazily off the comforter.

Feeling a sly grin make its way across my face, I gradually slide myself off the bed and towards Weiss.

She's turned away from me now, rummaging through her bag that sits on her bed. She only turns around when I walk up behind her and wrap my arms snugly around her stomach, idly rubbing my forehead against her back.

I've been making a conscious effort not to think about having Weiss all to myself tonight. I'm not planning on doing anything beyond maybe kissing her - but every time I start thinking about it - I can't help but let my mind wander a bit.

Being so close to her, like I am now, is _just_ enough to squelch my overwhelming desire to push her up against a wall and kiss her senseless.

"Ruby…? What are you doing?"

I don't immediately respond, instead taking a moment to burry my face deeper into her back and wrap my arms tighter around her.

"…Nothing."

Weiss doesn't say anything more, she just gradually continues pulling some toiletries out of her backpack and setting them in a pile on her bed.

After a minute of me refusing to move an inch, I feel her place a hand on my arms still tethered around her torso. She rubs her palm back and forth slightly, kind of like she's petting me.

"I'm going to go take a shower. How about you pick out a movie or something to watch while you're waiting?" She says.

I pull my head off her back and move it to her shoulder, loosening my grip around her waist in the process.

"Really?"

I see a pink-tinted Weiss turn to me over her shoulder, attempting to glare at me, but ultimately to embarrassed from our position to do it, which makes me grin at her.

"On the bus you said you had some suggestions. The hotel offers a wide variety of movies, so just pick one in my absence."

"Don't those normally cost money?" I ask, my face scrunching up as I speak.

"I'll pay. Just pick whatever you like."

My face lights up and I squeeze Weiss against me, causing her to let out a wheeze.

"Thanks, Weiss!"

She manages to shrug her way out of my grip and I let out a whine when she does. Although I'm disappointed, I think it's a good thing she didn't let me hold her for any longer than I had. I'm worried about what I might try to do.

After pulling away, Weiss grabs her toiletry bag and heads to the bathroom towards the front of our room, shutting the door behind her.

I sit back down on my bed and start flipping through channels to see what movies the hotel has. After a minute of searching through various channels, I hear the shower sputtering on through the wall next to me

As much as I try – and _god_ am I trying – I just can't seem to give my full focus to my movie finding task.

The sound of the shower running is enough to make my face heat up. Each time there's a slight change in the noise or a little splash here and there, I feel myself turn towards the wall and imagine what might be happening on the other side of it.

I feel awful for thinking such things and violently shake my head, trying to refocus as much of my attention as I can on picking out a movie.

Eventually, I find Indiana Jones 3. Since it was one of my favorite movies as a kid, I think it will be a good pick to watch with Weiss. I'm not sure what genre she likes anyways.

Half an hour passes; I change into my pajamas and start looking through the pictures I'd taken today on my phone. Most of them are of Weiss and the various places and booths we visited. Only in a few is she actually looking at the camera – but I do find a really good one where she has a genuine smile on her face as she presumably listens to one of the instructors talking.

I look up from my phone, only to realize I don't hear water running anymore. I assume Weiss is drying her hair or brushing her teeth, remembering something she told me about how she takes a while to get ready for bed.

 _Oh, god. I'm gonna get to see Weiss in her pajamas._

I feel my face burn even more just from thinking about it.

Not a second later, I hear the door opening from the bathroom and Weiss comes out wearing a light blue night gown. Her bangs are slightly messy, and a little damp, but the rest of her hair seems silky and straight, like it normally does.

 _Oh my god. She's so cute I could die._

I look down and also notice she still has her bracelet on her wrist. Knowing that she must have made a conscious effort to put it back on after her shower makes my face light up.

"Why are you already in your nightwear?" She questions, eyeing me up and down.

I look down at my black tank top and sweatpants, forgetting I had put on my pajamas while she was showering.

"Oh, I changed while you were in the shower. I'm gonna take one tomorrow morning."

She nods her understanding and walks over to her bed, so she can put her hairbrush back in her bag.

I lean over in my bed and face my phone towards Weiss, giving her a view of the picture of her I'd been looking at.

"Can I set this as my screensaver?"

Weiss looks up and leans over her bed, so she can see the image better, squinting at the screen as she does. She instantly gives me an incredulous look and shakes her head.

"No."

I gape at her in disbelief, my hand that's holding the phone dropping a bit.

"Aww, why not? You look so cute in it." I pout.

"Uh-huh. And what would you tell someone if they saw that on your phone?" Weiss sighs, not even waiting to hear my response. "Did you find a movie to watch?"

My mood brightens again, her previous comment slipping my mind entirely as I turn around to find the remote.

* * *

Weiss mostly complains about how she has no idea what's going on the whole movie. I try and explain the premise of Indiana Jones to her, but it's difficult for me since I'm only halfway paying attention to what's on screen anyways.

I'm much more intrigued by Weiss, who's laying on her stomach next to me at the end of my bed. I've been making attempts to scooch myself closer to her, but each time she almost immediately shoves me back with her hand.

She focused at the screen where Jones is talking to one of the doctors.

"Why did you pick this movie?" She questions for probably the tenth time. "It's grainy and the dialogue is terrible."

"What!?" I look over at her, mouth gaping, thinking my ears must be deceiving me. "This used to be my favorite movie! Don't you think the doctor lady is hot?"

Weiss shoots me a glare and smacks my arm with the back of her hand. Instead of telling me off, however, she turns back to the screen with a sigh, propping her head up with her hands.

"I guess I can't help it if you just have horrible taste in movies."

We continue watching until the credits start rolling across the screen. I yawn and look over at Weiss, who's eying the screen with a discontent expression.

"That's it? They just drop the holy grail and ride off into the sunset? What happened to his resentment towards his father and his wish for immortality?"

I yawn again, rolling onto my back and resting my head on the comfy hotel sheets.

"I never particularly liked the ending… I guess you sometimes have to just forgive and forget." I say, shrugging into the bed.

"That's ludicrous. The lead actress even picked up the treasure after the knight told her not to. I think she got what was coming to her."

"Geez, harsh much?" I mutter, looking over at her.

Weiss sees my expression and looks indignantly back at the screen.

"Well, she did!"

"I thought you didn't like the movie? Why so interested now?"

Weiss huffs and pulls herself off my bed, making it bounce up a bit with her absence. I miss the familiar weight next to me and lazily move to sit myself up, turning off the TV when I find the remote lying next to me.

"Just because I didn't like it doesn't mean I don't want to discuss it with you. You said it used to be your favorite…" Weiss mumbles, making me blink at her surprising honesty. "But I'm far too tired to have a discussion right now. Maybe tomorrow?"

I nod as Weiss moves to her bed and lifts the covers, so she can situate herself underneath them. She reaches over to the lamp between our beds and grabs the knob that turns the light off.

"Are you ready for me to turn it off?" She questions, noticing I'm still sitting at the end of my bed.

"Oh, right. Yeah, go ahead."

I crawl to the front of my bed and pull the covers back, so I can slip myself underneath them as well. Weiss looks at me from her bed for a second, hand frozen on the knob that turns the lamp off.

"G-Goodnight, Ruby."

I pull my arm out of the covers to give her a thumbs up.

"Night, Weiss."

She gives me a shaky nod before turning the knob that flickers the lights off.

Darkness falls over the room - along with a loud silence. Resting myself back against my bed, I stare at the ceiling, trying to focus on the slight hum of the air conditioner.

I rest a hand over my chest, feeling a heavy heartbeat that outweighs my fatigue to an almost immeasurable extent.

It's weird to think that just by being in a room with my girlfriend, not even touching or talking, I'm having thoughts that are inappropriate enough to make my face turn redder with each image that passes through my head.

 _Maybe she won't mind if I ask to sleep with her. Maybe just holding her will be enough to put these thoughts at bay._

Nervously flickering my gaze back and forth between her bed and the ceiling, all of which looks the same in the darkness of the room, I debate silently whether I should call out to her.

After a few minutes of shifting back and forth I decide I might as well try – even if I feel flustered enough to want to hide under a rock.

"Weiss?" I question, much quieter than I would've hoped, into the darkness of our room.

I shift my head to the direction of her bed. A few seconds pass and I don't hear a response, making me think she might already be asleep or that she didn't hear me.

"…Yes?"

I blink a few times – not expecting to hear her voice so clearly.

"C-could I - I mean, would it be alright with you if I, uhm, if I..."

I hear some shuffling and a moment later the lamp on the nightstand that separates our beds is turned on.

Weiss is leaned over in her bed, having just turned on the lamp, and is staring at me with a wary expression. I feel myself shrink with her gaze, which seems to be a bit conflicted.

After a moment, she sighs and points an incriminating finger at me.

"Fine. But no funny business."

I vigorously nod my head and slip myself out of my covers as Weiss turns the light back out. I make my way through the dark room and over to her bed, hearing her shuffling over to the other side to give me room.

Gulping nervously, I pull back the sheets and slide myself in beside Weiss, turning on my side away from her, and towards the nightstand as I lay down. The bed creaks with my newly added weigt and the room seems a lot quieter now that I'm this close to Weiss.

Despite wanting to turn around and look at her - I can't do anything. It feels like my body is frozen. My eyes are wide open, and I can't get them to close.

Staring into the dark, I listen to Weiss's steady breathing to try and calm myself down. I keep glancing over my shoulder – but the rooms too dark for me to see anything other than Weiss's dim outline. I shift myself into a more comfortable position, which happens to be facing her.

After a moment, I realize I can make out an odd shine through the blackness. I squint my eyes and notice that there are two of them – two orbs staring back into mine.

As soon as the orbs realize they've been caught, they widen right before squeezing themselves shut.

 _Weiss is watching me too._

I shift myself, so that I'm closer to her, and reach up a hand to brush some hair out of her still shut eyes.

"Weiss... What would you do if I kissed you right now?"

My voice is barely a whisper.

Through the darkness, I watch her small form twitch. The only thing I can make out is the dull reflection of her blue eyes as they open and move to stare into mine.

She waits a moment – both of us just watching each other – and then she lifts her hand from under the covers to lay it over my hand that cups her face.

"I would kiss you back."

She draws me towards her with her eyes, which beckoned me like a beacon that showed through the darkness of our room, or a siren that called me out of the depths of an ocean.

I can barely hear the sheets being shuffled as I move my head forward, my heartbeat invading my ears, and all my other senses overflowing with thoughts of Weiss and how perfect this moment is. How perfect _she_ is.

Her steady breathing has turned heavy, and I smell a hint of her mint toothpaste that I'd borrowed from her earlier.

As I near, I watch as Weiss's eyes slowly close, mine following in suit soon after.

I nudge my nose against hers, our mouths falling gently together in a kiss I've been anticipating since our trip began.

And just like that - the self-control I've been exerting since I saw Weiss this morning shatters in an instant - like water crashing through a dam after the floodgates are opened.

My hand instinctively moves from Weiss's cheek to slide into her hair, pulling us closer together. I love her hair. I love the way it feels in her usual ponytail, but now that it's running freely down her back and onto the bed, it gives me even more opportunity to run my fingers through it in a soothing, almost therapeutic, motion.

We tilt our heads against each other to our own clumsy - and sometimes laughably inexperienced - rhythm. Each time I reposition myself to kiss her deeper, our noses bump awkwardly, and Weiss even pulls back a few times out of surprise.

I find myself giggling whenever this happens - much to the embarrassment of Weiss. But, the moments pass quickly, and I always hastily return a clutching hand into her hair, serving as the instigator for our mouths to meet again.

I revel in her touch, squirming my legs underneath the sheets to try and rid a warmth building inside me. The problem with this is that I keep brushing against Weiss's own fidgeting legs - only serving to add to my arousal.

This doesn't feel like any of the kisses we've shared before. The fleeting pecks and closed mouth kisses - no - it's much different. This is a full on, open mouthed, almost sexual kiss. And I absolutely love it.

I love the way her body fits against mine, her smaller frame and modest chest pushed up against me, it makes me feel lightheaded. The way our lips fit together like puzzle pieces, the way she relents to me as I play with her hair and hold her tighter and tighter as our lips crash against each other over and over again - it's absolutely mind numbing.

I let my instincts take control as my brain slowly churns to mush - who am I to pay attention to the syntax of the situation when the girl I'm infatuated with is kissing me senseless.

I momentarily break our contact to roll myself over, so that I'm on top of her. I take a moment to watch her squirm beneath me. Even though the room is almost pitch black, her outline and hands coming up to wrap themselves around my neck is enough to tell me she's okay with more.

I have to squelch my desire to run my hands lower and rub my hands up and down her legs. There's no doubt in my mind that I would enjoy it immensely, but I know my own limits as well. Doing something like that would only arouse me more, and I don't think I'm quite ready to explore that territory yet.

I lean down and switch from holding myself up with my hands to my elbows. I realize I can feel Weiss's bracelet on her wrist dig into my neck as she pulls me down, but I don't give it a second thought as I reconnect my mouth with hers.

My hair acts like a curtain between us and everything else. When I kiss her, it feels like the world just falls away. It's slow, soft, and comforting in ways that words will never be.

The only thing that matters, the only thing that exists in my mind, is Weiss. She's my oxygen – and I'm dying to breathe.

She whines and one of her hands move to caress my ear, her thumb brushing across my check as our breaths mingle. I gasp and try to bite back the noise, shoving my lips harder against hers to cover it up.

I want to pull away before I lose myself completely, but I can't seem too.

" _Weiss…_ " I whisper against her lips.

I say it slowly, prolonging each letter as if to savor them. I smile against her, my heart fluttering as I feel Weiss run a thumb across my cheek.

" _Ruby._ "

Never before has my name ever felt so wonderful to hear.

I'm about to deepen our kiss again, but Weiss makes a low whine and gently pushes me back a bit. My eyes slowly open and I feel myself gradually come back to reality.

The first thing I see is Weiss lying underneath me, breathing hard, face flushed, and a hand still on my shoulder. I feel myself turn red in an instant and sheepishly look away from her, embarrassed about getting so carried away.

"Weiss, what's wrong?" I ask, nervously glancing back at her.

"I n-needed... some... air..." Comes her breathy voice.

"Ah, sorry..."

"Don't... be..."

I roll myself back off her, taking a moment to resituate myself back on my side of the bed.

I feel Weiss's hand move under the covers – searching for mine. I happily grab it, lacing my fingers with hers before pressing a quick kiss to her forehead and another to the back of our intertwined hands.

 _I'll never let you go._

* * *

The next morning, Weiss and I wake up early, ensuring we have plenty of time to finish looking at the booths and exhibits. However, today is much more relaxed than yesterday, since we've already seen everything we wanted to.

We go by the Meteorology exhibit again, but the guy that was running it yesterday is gone. We go down a few booths to see if maybe he just changed his station and we still can't find him, making me turn to Weiss in defeat.

"Damn, he's already gone. I wanted to thank him again for our bracelets." I say, frowning.

Weiss shrugs, looking around at another booth.

"We already thanked him once - I think that's plenty. We should check out the gift shop while we're on the first floor."

I pout and move to grab Weiss's hand. When she feels the contact, she immediately pulls away, scowling at me.

"Not right now, Ruby."

"Ehh? But you weren't complaining about it yesterday, not even when we were making ou- Aghh!?"

Weiss stomps on my foot with her sneaker, making me let out a surprised yelp.

"Don't say that _out loud_ you dunce. There's a lot less people here today, which means our chances of getting caught by someone at our school is higher."

With that said, I know there isn't any changing her mind. I just grumble to myself as I follow her to the gift shop.

My mood quickly turns around as I find two matching shirts with the festival logo on them. One of them is red and the other is blue.

I pretty much beg Weiss to get them, and only when I shoot her my puppy dog eyes does she begrudgingly agree. I make us go to the nearest bathroom to change into the shirts. As Weiss comes out, she looks embarrassed enough to be wearing the brightly pigmented T-shirt, let alone to be matching with me, but she says she'll keep it on if it makes me happy.

After that, we go by the food court to get some lunch before we have to pack and line up for our bus.

We find a Starbucks and Weiss says she'd like some coffee instead of a meal. We get in line and when it's our turn, Weiss orders something that I have no idea how to pronounce. She glances over at me and I give her a helpless look, making her roll her eyes.

She orders some hot chocolate for me and I ask if I could also have a yogurt. When we get to the cash register to pay, Weiss pulls out her card, but I quickly shove a twenty at the cashier, grinning proudly at Weiss, who's looks at me with an annoyed expression.

We sit down and chat for a while, trying to kill the time we have left before we have to go. We talk a lot about the movie we watched the other night – mostly just Weiss complaining and me trying to explain what actually happened to her.

Once we finish our drinks, we walk around for a while and look at a few different stalls outside. I see a popsicle stand and immediately tug on Weiss's sleeve to get her attention.

"Weiss, let's get some popsicles!"

She looks over at me, giving me a distasteful look.

"I think you've had your sugar count for today with that hot chocolate alone."

"What? There's was barely any sugar in that!" I counter.

"Are you serious? It already came with loads of it, yet I watched you put about five more packets in."

"You must be imagining things." I huff, but Weiss doesn't look fooled. "C'mon, please!? They're so cheap too. Two for a dollar!"

"I think you're forgetting who I am, Ruby."

It takes me a moment to remember that Weiss's family is loaded with cash.

I frown and kick my shoes back and forth on the sidewalk. Weiss gives me a disgruntled look before sighing and grabbing my sleeve, proceeding to drag me over to the popsicle stand.

"Fine, but don't blame me if you can't sit still on the ride back."

"Yay! Nice Weiss strikes again!"

Weiss stomps on my foot before walking over to the vendor. I overdramatically limp behind her, which she pointedly ignores as we get in line for our popsicles. When we reach the front, I order watermelon and Weiss gets cotton candy flavored.

We decide we'll go sit by the fountain, the big one I saw at the front of the Civic Center when we first got here.

It's just as huge as I remember it being, and I eagerly start climbing up one of the rocks that surrounds its border. I reach the top and offer my free hand down to Weiss, who's staring at me wide eyed.

"I don't think I can climb that, Ruby."

I take a bite off the top of my popsicle and lean my hand down further to her.

"It's only a few steps, Weiss. I'll help pull you up." Instead of taking my hand, I watch as she walks over to a much shallower portion of the fountain and carefully climbs up to me from there. "Ehh? That's was no fun!" I complain, pouting at her.

"I'd rather not risk slipping and breaking my neck. It's rather unsafe being up here."

"We're only a few feet off the ground though?" I question, almost laughing at her cautiousness.

She just rolls her eyes at me before smoothing out her shirt and sitting down next to me, tucking her legs back underneath her.

I take another bite of my popsicle, savoring the juicy flavor and the coldness of it as we bask in the sun.

Weiss was definitely right about there being less people here today. The hordes of people that were roaming this entire area yesterday, is now reduced to a few groups of students here and there, a lot of whom I recognize from our school.

I feel a buzz from my back pocket and pull out my phone to see my Uncle sent me a message asking when I'll be home. I message him back that we'll be leaving in a few hours, but instead of putting my phone back into my pocket, I tap on Weiss's shoulder to get her attention.

"Can I take a picture of us?"

Weiss takes another lick of her popsicle, scowling at it, like It's too sweet for her. It probably is.

"What is it with you and pictures, Ruby?"

"I like remembering what we did together! Please? It'll only take a second."

I'm already holding my phone out, hoping she'll look over at it but, instead, Weiss looks away from it, scanning the area around us. Her face turns slightly pink after spotting a few people milling about the front of the Civic Center.

"There's a lot of people out here…" She says nervously.

"Weeeiss." I whine out her name, hating how childish I sound, but not willing to give in so quickly. "No one cares about two teenagers taking pictures together, all you have to do is smile!"

I lean over, so we're both in the frame, and take a quick shot of us.

Bringing my phone down and opening my photos to look at it, I feel Weiss lean over my shoulder, so she can see as well.

My face brightens, seeing how good of a photo it is. In it, I'm leaning towards Weiss, with my free hand holding my popsicle and a goofy grin on my face. Weiss wears a small, yet genuine, smile as she looks almost confusedly at the camera.

"You look so pretty in this, Weiss! There's no way I _can't_ set this as my screensaver."

"Delete it."

She tries touching the small trashcan icon on my screen.

"What? No way." I say, holding the phone away from her and opening the settings.

"I'm squinting, and the lightings all weird. I'll let you take another one."

"Nu-uh~ No take backs, Weiss."

I grin and jump my way down from the fountain, running away before Weiss can delete the picture.

" _Ruby Rose,_ you get back here!"

* * *

A few hours – and a lot of chasing each other around – later, and we're back on the bus heading home.

It took a while for the teachers to round everyone up and get everything settled with the hotel, so we're leaving a bit later than expected.

Weiss and I are in our seats towards the back again, I'm looking through all the photos I've taken on my phone. She let me keep the one I took of us at the fountain, only after a half-hour of running around and me agreeing that I wouldn't set it as my screensaver, which I'm totally doing later anyways.

I notice Weiss is leaning under the seat in front of her, trying to pull out her laptop from her bag.

Putting a hand on her shoulder and tugging at her shirt, I patiently wait for her to look over at me.

"C'mon, Weiss. Let's enjoy the drive back. No work today."

Our trip ends with me leaning into the window and Weiss leaning into my shoulder as we drift off.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Corrections and comments always appreciated!**

 **(I don't have anything witty to say this time, so I'll just go with the classic –** _ **Harold, they're lesbians.**_ **)**


	18. Cracks

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 18: Cracks**

After an agonizingly long trip back from the festival, I finally return home and let myself breathe out a long sigh of relief.

I don't think our bus driver understood what _'gently'_ or _'with caution'_ meant. The whole trip back the entire bus was jostling me around and swerving between lanes, which constantly threw me from side to side, almost making me nauseous.

Each time Weiss and I had dozed off, we got a pretty rude awakening, as we were either thrown into the window or almost bounced off of our seats entirely. It was kind of like a roller coaster ride, which I normally think would be fun, but when you're trying to catch up on a few hours of lost sleep, it turns into more of a living nightmare.

I give a loud yawn and twist my key into the lock, opening my front door with the grace of any teenager who's coming down from a sugar high and deprived of sleep. Weiss had been right about that Hot Chocolate I drank earlier and the Popsicle on top of that. Once the sugar wore off, I felt like I'd been hit by a train, but after sleeping it off on the bus ride, I'm starting to feel a bit better.

As I sluggishly take off my sneakers at the entrance, I realize I can smell an all-to-familiar scent emanating out of the kitchen. It smells of baking flour and melted chocolate.

 _And that can only mean one thing._

I instantly perk up and yank my other shoe off my foot, letting it drop haphazardly in the entryway as I jog over to the kitchen.

"Dad!"

My dad is sitting with Uncle Qrow at the kitchen counter, along with a fresh tray of cookies that lay on the table. It looks as though they've been chatting for a while.

"Ruby!" My dad calls, standing up before I inevitably tackle him into a bear hug. "How've you been, Sweetie? Qrow was telling me it's been busy for you lately." He says, ruffling my hair.

I take a moment to squeeze my dad tighter to me before I respond, enjoying his much missed presence this past week.

"I'm doing fine. When did you get back? And how was your business trip?" I question, looking up at him excitedly.

"Slow down there, Sport." He laughs and gives my head another loving pat before prying me off his torso. "I got back this morning, would've been sooner but the traffic was awful. And a business trip is a business trip, kiddo. Trust me, you wouldn't be interested."

Uncle Qrow scoffs and takes a slow sip out of his flask on the table.

"Yep, your old man's work sure is boring. He's been droning on about stocks and market prices for the past hour. You're lucky you missed it, kiddo. _I'm_ the one with the good stories to tell after all."

The disgruntled face my dad gives him makes me giggle. They've always had a small rivalry between them, and most of the time they're around each other it always turns into some sort of competition. It's mostly harmless and Yang and I usually laugh at their attempts to one up each other.

"Just because you're in law enforcement doesn't make it cooler." My dad mumbles. "I've got plenty of interesting stories to tell."

"Oh, yeah? Like that time you spilled coffee on your bosses-"

"E-Enough about that." My dad hastily cuts him off. "I want to hear about your trip, Ruby. It was a science festival, right? Sounds fascinating!"

I nod and walk around the counter to pick a piping hot cookie off the tray. It burns my fingers when I grab it, making me flail my hand in an attempt to drop it and causing it to fall into two pieces. I frown at the mangled cookie mess and walk over to get a plate out of the cupboard.

"It was super fun." I say. "There was this huge mirror maze thing and I got this really cool pin for my lanyard. I also got these really cool magnets that spin and make noise when you throw them! I'll show you later." I bring my plate over to the table and quickly grab a cookie to throw onto it as I continue talking. "Hmm, what else did I get… Oh! I also got a hat and this shirt!"

I point proudly to my shirt with the festival logo on it.

"That's pretty cool, kid." My uncle states, causing me to beam at him.

"Yeah, what's that on it? A lizard?" My dad asks from beside Qrow.

"Uh-huh. Weiss and I even went to the reptile house where they had a lizard just like it. Here, I'll show you."

I pull out my phone and start scrolling through all the photos I took to find the one from the reptile house.

"Weiss?" My dad questions, making my finger that's scrolling on my phone pause. "That's the council president, right? I didn't know you two were friends."

I feel my stomach clench and my palms grow instantly sweaty at his words. I haven't really mentioned Weiss all that much around him, afraid that something might slip out if I do. Through my conscious efforts to neglect the subject, I guess I forgot to mention that we were even friends at all.

Slowly starting to scroll through my phone again, I try and answer as evenly as I can.

"Yeah, we're friends. We kind of have to be around each other all the time because of the council and all." I give an awkward laugh and hope my dad's obliviousness will come through for me.

It seems I'm in luck today, since my dad drops the subject as soon as I show him some pictures I took in the reptile house.

"Oh, wow. Look at the teeth on the thing." He says, inquisitively scratching some stubble on his chin.

"Being around a creature with fangs like that, you better be careful kid, who knows when it'll come to get ya'." As my Uncle speaks, he leans over and pinches my side, making me yelp out of surprise.

"C'mon, Uncle Qrow! That's not funny!"

"It's kinda funny." He says, snickering.

"Enough, Qrow." My dad tries to sound like stern parent, but ultimately fails as he tries his best not to laugh along with him. He's never really been very good in the 'strict' department of parenting. "Why don't you go show some of your pictures to Yang, sweetie."

"Where is she?" I ask, now noticing my sister's missing presence.

"She's out back with a friend. Something about painting a banner for a school event. You should go check on her, she might need some help with it."

I nod and grab another cookie before making my way to the backyard. As I put my hand on the back door, I turn around towards my dad and hold my cookie up as if I were saluting him.

"We're totally having a movie night tonight! No getting out of it!"

My dad laughs and shakes his head good-naturedly. He's always had a hard time saying no to me and Yang, probably a side effect of being a single parent and thinking he always needs us to be happy. I try not to abuse this trait of his too much, but there's no way we're _not_ having a movie night after he's been gone for so long.

"I'll make the popcorn." Qrow calls as I step out the back door.

His comment makes a smile appear on my face, knowing that my whole family will be here tonight.

As I step out into our generously sized backyard, I feel a slight breeze brush my face. There's not much out here except for an old grill on the porch that my dad sometimes cooks on, and some random dirt patches that Zwei frequently digs up, scattered throughout the grass.

"What're you grinning about?"

The voice makes me jump, and I look beside the backdoor to see Blake sitting crisscross with her back against the wall of the house, looking bored.

"Blake? What're you doing here?"

She nods her head towards the grass and I look over to spot Yang, sitting alongside a long white banner. The banner has the word _Music_ outlined on it in big black letters, making me think it must be something for the Music fest. There are a few open paint buckets next to her and the first two letters of the banner are already filled in with blue and yellow coloring.

From the looks of it, Yang has more paint on herself rather than the banner, well, all except her hair, which looks pristine as usual.

I walk to the edge of the porch and tilt my head questioningly at my sister.

"Whatcha doing, Yang?" I call out to her. "Dad said you might need some help."

Yang looks up, putting a hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun. She gives me a big wave with the same hand she's holding her paint brush in, causing it to splatter everywhere.

"Welcome back, Rubes! How was your geek festival?"

I frown at her and step down from the porch to make my way over to her.

"It wasn't a geek festival." I mutter, bending down on the opposite side of the banner from her. "And it was _actually_ really fun, I'll tell you more about it later."

"Whatever you say, Sis. Hey, hand me that brush over there would you? This one's too stiff."

I look over to where she's pointing, which is by the open cans of paint. Picking myself up and walking over to it, I bend down and pick up the two I can find littered in the grass. I look at the clean brushes briefly before holding them out to Yang in questioning.

"The red handled one."

I frown at her, rolling the red one around in my hand.

"I wanted this one, though."

"To bad, Sis." My sister says, snatching it from my hands and immediately dipping it into one of the cans. "Come sit next to me, you can choose whatever letter you want to paint in."

I ease myself onto my knees next to her, dipping my brush in the blue paint bucket and beginning to paint the _I_ in _Music_.

For a few minutes we paint quietly. It's almost soothing in a way to fill in a defined space with paint, I feel myself start nodding off as I move my brush because I'm so calm.

"So?" Yang asks, breaking the silence.

I hold my head up and look over at my sister, then tilting my head to the side and giving her a confused look.

" _So_ what?"

"Sooo, what base did you get to?"

I feel my face grow beet-red in an instant, causing me to quickly turn away from her and look down at the grass, as though it would somehow make me feel less embarrassed.

"Y-Yang! There were no bases o-or getting to anything!"

She cackles at my reaction, almost like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard, which only serves to fluster me even more.

It wasn't particularly the question that made me react like this, but more remembering me and Weiss's make-out session in the hotel room. The thought of it is enough for me to feel weak in the knees, and I vigorously shake my head to try and get rid of the images that keep seeping into my mind.

"Oh, come on. Despite what I said to you beforehand, you _really_ expect me to believe you were some sort of saint on an overnight trip with the pres? _Your_ girlfriend? Don't think I don't remember-"

"Could you stop holding that over my head!? You need to keep it down! I told you it's a secret!" I whisper to her in a harsh tone.

My sister rolls her eyes and continues flicking her red brush across the letter she's working on.

"Okay, Rubes. Well, how about I tell you a secret then? It's only fair, yeah?"

"…I guess so."

Yang looks like she's thinking for a moment, flickering her gaze between me and the banner. She slowly leans over to dip her brush back in the paint can, and as she does, she leans in closer to me.

"Okay, well, what would you do... if I told you Blake kind of already knows."

"Knows what?"

"About you and Weiss."

My hand freezes over the letter I'm painting, my mind taking a moment to process her words.

" _What!?_ " I shriek, bolting up to my feet.

"Just kidding! That was a lie! Let's get back to painting, shall we!"

" _Yang!_ "

"Alright, alright, I'll let you use the red brush this time."

She holds the red brush out to me with a forced smile that looks more like a grimace. When it's within my reaching distance, I smack it out of her hand, so it falls into the grass.

"What do you mean she _knows?_ Did you say something to her?"

"Wha- no, of course not. She just kind of asked, and I _might_ _have_ confirmed it."

I instantly feel a sinking in my stomach, and I roughly grab the sides of my head, gripping my hair in my fingers and dropping back onto the ground by the banner.

"H-How did she find out?"

" _She_ is sitting only ten feet away, need I remind you." I turn my head to see Blake glaring at me from where she now sits at the edge of the porch. "And _she_ also has eyes. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together. Sometimes you guys are as obvious as all get out."

I give her a vexed look and point an incriminating finger at my sister.

"But Yang said she had no idea about us when she found out."

Blake crosses her legs and raises an eyebrow at me.

"I wouldn't say your sister is… _bad_ at reading people, but I surely wouldn't say she's the keenest on picking up something like that."

"Hey!" Yang shouts indignantly.

Blake ignores her and sets her chin in her hands in a bored manor, blowing some hair out of her eyes as she does so.

"It was mostly just little things. You wanting to switch positions with me during the chalk-walk was the first clue, then it was all the times you guys left together after meetings, the way you constantly argue like an old married couple, and how Weiss picks on every little thing you're doing wrong. That's always kind of been her way of showing fondness for someone."

"…This isn't some murder mystery, Blake. Everything's like some weird book plot with you." Yang mumbles, continuing to paint the banner.

"When I saw you guys holding hands during the council picture it pretty much confirmed it. I later asked your sister about it as well, just to see if she knew, which she did."

I run a hand through my hair and look down at the banner, uneasiness pouring through me at the thought of other people being able to piece it together like Blake had.

When Weiss and I started dating we both mutually agreed we weren't going to tell anyone. At first, we were a little confused about how to go about it. Neither of us had ever been in something like this before, a relationship that is. But that was months ago. Now, we've had time to get used to each other. We've been able to experience an intimacy together and to learn from it.

It was once I got a taste of what being in a _real_ relationship was like that the cracks in our barrier started to form. No matter how much I ignored them, the cracks never really went away, if anything, it's gotten worse, and I know I'm at fault for a lot of them.

I just never realized how difficult it would be to stay a secret after a while. The thought of accidently saying something to someone is always looming over me, but at the same time… I just… I just _want_ to. I keep getting caught up in the moment and doing things I shouldn't, and I know it's making Weiss uncomfortable.

And that's where my main problem lies. Weiss is now the only one pushing for this barrier between us and everyone else. Not that I don't completely understand her reasoning. She has a neatly planned out future and a family that won't accept her for who she is. I know fully well that I don't fit within the path she's laid out for herself, and I wouldn't dream of getting in the way of it either.

 _But still…_

 _It would be nice if I could tell people she's mine._

"You haven't told anyone, have you?" I carefully ask, looking up from where I've been staring at the banner in the grass.

"I haven't. Neither of you ever said anything about it, so I figured there was a reason."

"Blake's a cheesy book nerd, so of course she'd figure it out." My sister sticks her tongue out at the 'cheesy book nerd', who in turn just squints at her annoyedly.

"That's not the point, Yang!" I whine, clutching my brush tighter in my hand. "It's really important to Weiss that this doesn't get out!"

My sister just looks over at me, giving me an unreadable expression as she eyes me up and down.

"Well, what about you?" She asks.

"What about me?"

"Do _you_ want to tell people about your relationship?"

I bite my lip and look away from her, taking to picking at the grass around my legs.

"I-I don't know." I meekly respond.

Yang scoffs and shakes her head at me.

"Well, I don't see what's so bad about telling one or two people that you trust. I know keeping it inside must be killing you, Sis."

I sigh, and keep plucking away at the grass, my painted letter being long forgotten. After a moment of sulking, I feel a buzz from my back pocket, and I reach around to see who it is.

 **Penny: Ruby, I need your help with something important. Are you available?**

 **Ruby: Sure, what is it?**

 **Penny: It's important!**

 **Ruby: …That doesn't answer my question.**

 **Penny: Meet me at the usual spot, okay?**

 **Ruby: K, I'll be there in 20.**

I shove my phone back into my pocket, silently thanking Penny for giving me a reason to get out of here.

"Who was that?" Yang asks, continuing to paint but motioning her head at my pocket.

"It's Penny. She said I have to meet her for something important, I'll catch you guys later."

I set my brush down and hop up from my spot, brushing some grass off my pants as I walk to the back door. When I grab the handle, I glance back at Blake, who's sitting on the porch, still looking disinterested .

"Blake?"

She glances over her shoulder at me and raises an eyebrow in questioning.

"T-Thanks for, you know, not telling anyone."

All she offers me is a reassuring shrug and a barely visible smile.

* * *

I'm pleasantly surprised when I realize the usual spot that Penny asked to meet at was only about fifteen minutes away from my neighborhood. I always get fatigued when I ride my bike long distances, and I'm still sore from the bus ride as well, so the short distance is appreciated.

There's a small bike rack that I park at towards the end of the block where our usual spot, a small local café, is located. As I walk into the familiar venue, I almost immediately spot Penny in a booth nestled in the corner, sipping something from a small cup and going through what looks to be a thick binder.

I give my friend a smile and a wave as I walk up to her, watching her face instantly light up with joy.

"Sal-u-tations, Ruby!" she gleefully calls, closing the binder that she'd been looking through.

"Hey, Penny." I slide myself into the seat across from her and eagerly pick up a menu from the front of the table. "How's it going?" I ask.

Penny frowns and takes another sip from her small cup.

"To be honest with you, not the best. I'm having such a difficult time choosing pictures for Yearbook. Our first draft needs to be completed soon and I just can't decide."

Our waiter comes by to take our order, I get a four-stack of pancakes and an apple juice, Penny also orders some pancakes, via the waiter's recommendation.

When he steps away, Penny flips the binder she'd been looking through around and pushes it towards me. I eye it questioningly before setting my menu to the side and opening the cover, only to be met with a stack of photos that rest haphazardly within it.

I was expecting some sort of organized portfolio, but what I'm met with is just this mess of photographs.

Penny reaches over the table and grabs the pictures out of the binder, dropping them onto the wooden tabletop with a loud slap.

"Did you take all these?" I ask, spreading some of them out as I go through them. "They're really good."

Most of the pictures are from school events and clubs, some even from the ones the council helped with earlier on this year.

"Yes, I took most of them. A few of the other Yearbook members helped me take some of the others."

I find Yang in one of the pictures, it must have been taken during the chalk-walk because she's grinning alongside some other students I don't recognize and pointing to one of the drawings on the sidewalk that's in front of the school. The photo immediately after it shows the same group of students, but this time they're all doing silly poses and have their arms around each other's shoulders.

I flip through a few more pictures of random students, a lot from specific clubs or groups around the school doing their various activities, like track, football, astronomy club, key club, and loads more.

Looking up from the photos, I switch my gaze to Penny, who's looking intensely at two different ones set aside one another on the table. After a moment, she lets out a sigh and frustratedly shoves them into my hands.

"This is why I need your help! It's so difficult for me to choose which ones I want to be in my final draft."

I grab the photos, which I remember being taken before the basketball game, when my sister, Blake, and I were rolling up the tickets. The only noticeable difference between them is that in one we're all looking away and doing our tasks, and in the other we must had just noticed the camera and are looking over at it.

"I don't think it matters that much, Penny." I say as I look over them. "I mean, the pictures are both really good, but practically the same."

" _Practically the same?_ " Penny mimics, almost as if in shock.

"Uh… yeah?"

"Ruby, these are important decisions! They can't just _be_ the same! You have to tell me which one is better."

I take another look and randomly pick the one of us not looking at the camera and give it to her. I've never been good at making decisions, and Penny knows that, so I don't know why she's asking me to help her decide.

"This one." I say as I hand it to her.

Penny takes it and eyes it suspiciously.

"Hmm..." She makes a dissatisfied look at the photo, making me gape at her.

"Wha- You asked me to choose!"

"...I suppose I did."

"Then what's with that face!?"

"What face?"

"You know what face! If you were gonna choose the other one, then why even ask me?"

Penny tilts her head at me, as if to try and figure out if I'm legitimately angry or not, which I'm not. I just don't understand why she thinks it's a good idea to ask me about these things.

"That's not it, Ruby. I value your opinion, I really do, but... agh! It's just so hard to choose, and for such a quintessential task as yearbook too. Let's just move onto a different one, shall we?"

She scoops up the pictures and stuffs them back in the binder. I pick up another stack of the photos and start sifting through it.

As we go through a few more, our waiter comes back, bringing us our pancakes, along with my apple juice that I greedily gulp down. We take a break from looking through the pictures to eat our food and catch up with each other.

We mostly talk about the science trip and Penny's math competition that she competed in a while back. She claims to really like math, but that her true passion is in photography.

"I wish I could have gone with you on your trip, Ruby! There would have been so many extraordinary photo opportunities with all the booths and such."

I smile knowingly and shove my, now empty, plate away from me.

"You woulda liked it. There was this cool meteorology exhibit where this guy showed us how to make our own rain. Oh! And he gave me this!"

I lean my arm across the table and roll up my sleeve to reveal the snowflake bracelet the lie hidden underneath. Penny ogles it, taking my wrist in her hand and holding it up to her face to get a better look.

"This is marvelous craftsmanship. Did Weiss get one as well?"

My gaze falters at her words, nervous blinks invading my vision as I pull my arm back and hide the bracelet with my sleeve.

"She got one similar." I say, giving a hesitant chuckle.

"Well, that was awful nice of the man." Penny says, taking another sip from her cup.

I want to change the subject, but I keep thinking about what Yang said earlier.

 _I don't see what's so bad about telling one or two people that you trust... I know keeping it inside must be killing you, Sis..._

I hate to acknowledge it, but she's right. It _is_ killing me inside.

Not letting anyone know about our relationship might be something Weiss is fine with, and something I can settle on being fine with to an extent, but why can't I tell people I trust?

I understand the paranoia she must have about it, if her father finds out he'll do everything in his power to burry this relationship so far under the dirt it'll be practically nonexistent.

If that happens, I won't be able to talk to Weiss anymore, to text her good morning and good night, to shower her with affection every moment I'm with her, or feel that familiar grip on my shoulders as we ride my bike around town. If that happens, I won't be able to see her anymore.

 _If that happens._

I'm not implying I don't trust Weiss, I completely do. But I also trust myself. And I trust myself to have faith in my friends.

"Penny... c-can I tell you something?" I ask, tugging nervously at the bracelet hidden by my sleeve.

"Absolutely!"

I know this is against Weiss's wishes, but I feel like I've respected them long enough. I _deserve_ to tell my best friend that I'm in a relationship with someone and that I'm happy.

"O-okay, but you have to promise not to tell anyone! like, absolutely no one! This is a superduper top-secret, not to be disclosed with another sole, type of thing."

"Alright?"

"Like, I might actually be crucified if you say anything-"

"Ruby, I understand."

"You'd essentially be signing my death sentence if this gets out."

" _Ruby."_ Penny puts her pointer finger and her thumb together and drags them across her lips, as though she's sealing them. "I promise I won't say a word."

I find myself switching from fidgeting anxiously to looking up and giving my friend a smile.

Penny has always had my back. Ever since we met in the first year of high school she's been my closest and most reliable friend. Not that I have many friends, but she's without a doubt the closest out of the few that I do have and I know I can rely on her for anything.

So, taking a deep breath, I lean onto the table and fold my hands together.

"W-well, you know how, uhm, Weiss and I have been getting along lately?"

Penny nods, encouraging me to go on.

"Uhh, okay. Well, what if I... told you that we're kind of - no - not kind of, but like if we are _actually_ , like... dating."

Penny stays silent, staring at me with an unreadable expression. I flit my gaze away from her, afraid that I thought wrong, that she might not be very accepting of me. The thought makes me clench my hands tighter and I struggle to find words, as it feels like a huge lump has formed in my throat.

"It's like – well, it kind of started a while ago. I-I've been meaning to tell you. Really, I have! It's just that Weiss wants us to keep it a s-secret and I'm not even supposed to tell anyone, but then Blake found out… and I was feeling depressed all day since I haven't really said anything to you. So, I thought, you know… ugh, where am I even going with this."

Penny now looks at me with an agitated expression, almost angry, which is a very rare sight to see from her

"I didn't know you were gay?"

Her words make my posture falter and I look shamefully down to my lap.

"Well, I guess-"

"How could you not tell me something that important!?" Penny's voice rises and she holds an offended hand to her chest. "I thought I was your best friend? Best friends tell each other things like that!"

"Penny, I-I never meant to keep it from you. I didn't even really _know_ -"

Penny slams a fist down on top of her binder, cutting off my babbling. She takes a deep breath and stares directly into my eyes.

"This calls for an alliance."

I watch in uncomfortable silence as she looks to me, expecting me to say something.

"…A what?"

"A truth alliance! Put your hand on the binder, Ruby."

I comply with what she says, even though I don't really know what I'm doing, but I don't feel like I have the justification to disobey her in our current situation. Moving my hand next to hers on the binder, I curl it up into a fist.

"From now onwards, there will be no more lies, half-truths, or secret keeping in our friendship. We will tell the truth, and nothing but the truth. We will also be super besties until we die. Understood?"

I find myself giggling at the announcement; it almost sounds like she's giving some freedom of America speech. Moving my hand across the binder, I set my fist on top of hers and give her a grin.

"Understood."

* * *

Penny and I talked for a while after that. She asked loads of questions about the specifics of my relationship with Weiss, like when we started dating, if we'd kissed yet, and how I came to the realization I liked her in the first place.

I've never talked about it to anyone before and just being able to tell someone feels so liberating and makes me have a whole new view on my relationship. Penny has always been good at listening and cheering me up and I owe her a lot for it.

Before we parted, she handed me a picture that I hadn't seen when we'd been going through her portfolio. It was the picture taken at the student council party.

Currently, I'm sitting at my desk and thumbing over the familiar photo. In my other hand I'm holding my phone up to my ear and waiting eagerly for the line to pick up.

" _Hello?"_

"Weiss! Did you get the picture I sent you?!"

I had texted Weiss the student council picture to her as soon as I got home and I've been waiting for her to message me back. When she eventually did, she just said to call her. Weiss has always preferred talking over texting and I've never really had a problem with that.

" _Yes, I received it. And please don't yell into your phone."_

"Ah, sorry. Has everything been alright with you since you got home? I know you didn't get to sleep much on the bus."

" _Yes, it's been fine. I took a nap earlier. How about you?"_

I stand up from my desk and stretch my limbs. Talking about sleep always makes me tired, so I start walking over to lay down on my bed.

"I was kinda groggy when I got home, but when I got back I realized my dad was back in town and talking with him made me feel a lot more awake."

" _Well, that's good."_

"Yeah, and I helped Yang paint the banner for music for the music festival." I plop myself onto my bed and roll over to face my window, switching my phone between hands as I do. "I also met up with Penny at a café down the street. I helped her pick out yearbook pictures, which is when she gave me the one that I sent you."

" _It's indeed an excellent photograph. Perhaps I could have come as well, to view the other photos of the council."_

"Really? Is that it? Or are you just jealous that I have other people to hang out with?"

I smile smugly into my pillow, knowing the question would fluster Weiss.

" _That's absurd! I-I just thought that maybe I could have helped!"_

"You're so jealous! Admit it!"

" _I'm not."_

"Are too~"

I hear Weiss give a loud and irritated breath on the other end of the line.

" _I'm not playing along with your childish games, Ruby. But… I don't think it would be horribly awful if we went out to get a meal sometime too."_

I idly smooth the creases in my blanket as I close my eyes and imagine going out and sharing a meal with Weiss.

"Mmm. That does sound nice. How's your health been?"

" _It's been getting better. Although, I haven't talked to my father in a while, which might play a factor in my wellness. I also didn't bring my medication to school this previous week and I haven't felt the need for it in a while."_

"Weiss, that's awesome!"

" _It is, but dry spells like these are a common occurrence. It may come back later."_

"Well, let's hope they don't."

Hearing Weiss let out a huff on the other end of the line, I can only imagine her leaning back wherever she's sitting and putting a hand to her temple.

" _Let's hope."_

For a moment, I just hold the phone to my ear and listen to her breathing and some ruffling going on in the background, probably her going through papers or something. Just chatting with Weiss is enough to make me wish she was lying next to me and that I could wrap my arms around her neck and press a kiss to her forehead.

"I miss you, Weiss."

" _You saw me this morning, Dunce."_

I pout at an unknowing Weiss across the line and shift around into a more comfortable position in my bed.

"I know, but I still miss you."

" _We'll see each other Monday. We have to start preparations for the festival, after all."_

"I guess you're right…"

Trailing off, I feel my eyelids being dragged down by my tiredness and my body sinking lower into my bed. A yawn escapes my mouth and I think we both know it's time we should be heading to sleep. Regardless, neither of us say anything fthat could end the conversation until I hear Weiss's quiet voice from the other end of the line.

 _"Goodnight, Ruby."_

My eyes dip shut and I breathe a sigh of contentment.

"Night, Weiss."


	19. Carnal Desires

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 19: Carnal Desires**

I never thought about how much work it would be to set up an entire festival.

Of course, there are obvious tasks that need to be done, like figuring out the venue, how many people the school will be able to hold, contracting what bands we want to perform, and deciding if the chorus club should even be allowed on stage with their, widely agreed, god-awful voices. Hell, everything from the entertainment being provided to how many ketchup packets we should order is being organized by the council.

It has only been about two weeks since I got back from the Science trip and all the council members are in full overdrive to make sure this event will be an absolute success. Pyrrha has been working with some of the faculty to figure out funding for the festival and when would be the best time for it to be held, Yang and Blake have been in charge of advertising, and the rest of the council, including me, have been planning out the rest of the event and all the small details involved.

The air is getting chillier and the days are growing longer, meaning that winter break is fast approaching. It almost seems as though we've come upon the week of the Music Festival in no less than the blink of an eye.

This Friday is the officially scheduled date for the event, yet the council is still working beyond resolve to make sure everything is ready. We sold out of tickets within days of the announcement, so it seems like students and other attendees alike have high expectations of us.

Honestly, it's an odd feeling. The feeling of being needed and depended on for the enjoyment of roughly a thousand people. In a way it seems fulfilling, like I'm finally making my way in the world and learning to define myself through the eyes of these people. However, in another way, the impact this has on me is glaringly miniscule in comparison to how I want one person in particular to view me. My special person.

I lift my gaze across the empty resource room we're currently in, seeking out the familiar presence I've grown so accustomed to.

Weiss is bent over one of the many big plastic tubs that fill the room. We're attempting to find any decorations we think might be useful for the festival and making an inventory of them, so we know what we need to have as well as what we need to order before this Friday.

After a moment of watching Weiss work, I look back down towards the grey bin I'm sifting through. There's a lot of junk in the resource room's closet. It took us forever to haul these industrial sized storage boxes out, long enough for the rest of the council to finish their work and go home for the day.

I reach in and take out another clear bag of colorful confetti that is covered in a thick sheen of dust, alerting me to the fact these bins probably haven't been touched in years. Reaching behind me, I take my notepad off the council table and make another tally mark next to the section I've dubbed: _Useless bags of confetti._

With a yawn, I set the list on the floor beside me and continue my search. Next up is one of those blow up microphones that I've seen being sold before at places like Party City, however, this one is deflated and looks as though the years of neglect had taken its toll. The handle of the prop is littered with holes and mold, and the actual mic part seems to have collapsed inwards.

 _Yep, completely unusable._

Making a disgusted face at the mangled mess, I reach in and pick it up between my index finger and my thumb. Across the room, I notice Weiss glance my way as I walk over to the trashcan to throw the deflated abomination away.

"What is that?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.

I drop the prop in the trash and wipe my hand that was holding it on the pants of my uniform. "Trust me, you don't want to know." I say, shaking my head and grimacing.

Instead of walking back to my bin, I walk over to Weiss's and crouch down on the opposite side of it.

Scrunching my face up in thought, I start wondering if Weiss has ever used a microphone like that before. Well, not some cheap blow-up prop, but a real one. I've honestly been curious about her voice ever since she mentioned to me that she sings. Of course there have been times where I've caught her humming along to a tune, but I never have heard her sing before.

"Hey, Weiss, do you think you could sing at the music festival?"

Weiss looks up from jotting something down on her list and gives me a stubborn expression. "Of course not." She says, briskly deflecting the notion.

"Aww, why not? I really want to hear your singing voice! I bet you have the best voice in the entire world."

"You haven't even heard me perform, though. How could you come to an assumption like that?"

Weiss sets her clipboard on the council's table and sits down on the opposite side of the bin from me to continue sifting through it.

"Hmm… I don't know. I just have to come to assumptions since you refuse to sing for me!" I place a finger on my chin as if I'm thinking. "I bet you're the equivalent to like… Mariah Carey or something!"

"I wouldn't go that far." Weiss says, trying her best not to smile at my suggestion.

"Elton John?"

"If you think I could have a voice like Elton John I suggest having your ears checked."

"Gah! Well, how am I supposed to know if you won't let me hear your voice?" Feeling defeated, I push myself away from the box and fall to my back against the council room's ugly tiled floor. "Do you sing other people's songs, or do you write your own?"

I lift my head slightly off the floor, so that I can watch Weiss as she works.

"It's a little of both. I don't see why you care so much, though." She says, brushing some bangs out of her eyes.

Something about her response irritates me. I form a pout and sluggishly push myself back upright, so that I'm sitting crisscross.

"Of course I care, Weiss. I don't see why you think I wouldn't." Weiss looks up from her clipboard and offers me a small smile, causing me to beam at her. "So, what are your songs about?"

"Hmm…" Weiss takes her pen she's writing with and presses it against her lips in thought. "They are mostly about my life. The different things that I feel for being who I am and being in the position I am with my family. I don't care for going into much detail about them, since they can come across as very… narcissistic? That is, given people know what they are about."

She was blatantly avoiding the real question I asked, making me give her a hardened look. "I won't judge you, Weiss. Just… let me know what you're feeling about those things."

Weiss sighs and sets her clipboard to the side, beginning to pointlessly rummage through the almost emptied bin.

"…Loneliness would be the main offender I suppose." She looks down through her bangs with lidded eyes, telling me she's deep in thought. "I never liked being alone, but I also hated being around people. Ever since I could speak the only thing people did was use me. Money. Recognition. Power. At first, my dad made me think I was _special_ , he made me believe that everyone looked up to me and that I held talents insurmountable to others. And I blindly craved that attention, loving the fact that I was a person people admired."

I reach across the bin and grab one of Weiss's arms, so that I can run my hand along it in soothing motions, helping to coax the words that she obviously needed to say out of her.

"Eventually, the façade faded and I realized what the true nature of people is really like. I still don't like to be alone because I know I'm scared and lonely, but I also recognize it's hard for me to understand what trusting people is like. I was by myself most of my life and I was so damn lonely and I was _content_ with that because I convinced myself that I liked my own company and I didn't need anyone."

I slow my scratching on Weiss's arm and look over at her with understanding eyes.

"What about now?" I ask. "Do you still think you don't need anyone?"

Weiss, whose gaze is already mirroring mine, gives me a hint of a smile that disappears almost as soon as I notice it.

"Well, I thought I didn't need anyone… but then there was you. I wish someone had told me that a relationship like ours is for the few individuals who can handle that oppressive loneliness. Ever since I met you I remember thinking there was something different about the way you saw the world, and I think I just wanted to know what it was. Regardless, you definitely sparked something in me, Ruby, because now I only feel lonely when I'm not with you."

The big grin on my face is probably enough to tell Weiss all she needs to know about what I think. It's also evident by the coloring on her cheeks that she realized what she's been rambling on about.

"Is that the reason you agreed to go out with me?" I ask. "Because I made you feel something you never had before?"

"There was that, but it was also how you would always go out of your way to greet me with that big goofy smile on your face, no matter how ridiculous it looks, or when you would pull the most idiotic stunts just to try and cheer me up, no matter how cliche that sounds."

Weiss is blushing like mad now and I make sure I'm looking at her with eager eyes, so she knows to continue. I love hearing the reasons as to why Weiss likes me to, it feels reassuring in a way.

"Your presence has always felt warm and comforting to me. It seemed like every time I was around you I could just... let go of everything that was bogging me down. You listened to me and put value into me as a person and not into my family, which is a lot more than anyone else has ever done. You really are the most genuine and sweetest person I know, and I wouldn't trade you for the world... Sometimes it feels like you are my world."

I feel water poking at my eyes and I just can't hold myself back anymore. Standing up, I rush to Weiss's side and pull her up into a hug, squeezing her against me like she's the only thing keeping me grounded to the world.

"Wha-" She lets out a surprised noise and places a hand between us in an attempt to separate us. "R-Ruby, why are you crying?"

"Weiss, you're my world too! Of course I'm going to start crying if you say something like that! I'll never ever let you feel lonely again!"

Weiss awkwardly reaches around my waist to hug me back while I bury my face into the side of her head, inhaling her scent and loving the way she feels against me. She's warm and soft, reminding me of the feeling I get when I'm curled up in my bed under half a dozen blankets.

After a moment, she moves one of her hands up to my head and starts running it through my scruffy hair. I love the feeling of having her delicate fingers trace their way through unruly strands and I make a content noise into the side of her head, encouraging her to continue.

"You know," Weiss begins. "I realized after you confessed to me that I had already been feeling something strange around you for a while. I guess I just wasn't able to figure out what it was until you said something."

"Well, I'm glad I did then." I pull my head away from hers and take to resting my forehead on her shoulder, closing my eyes and letting another grin brandish my face. "You don't know how nervous I was to say that I liked you."

Weiss makes an inquisitive noise and slows her hands that's still making its way through my hair.

"Is that so? I distinctly remember being able to see your hands shaking from the steps."

I whine and nuzzle my face deeper into her shoulder. "Weeeiss. Don't say that, it's so embarrassing."

"If someone were to see your behavior right now I assure you it would be ten times more embarrassing."

"Pshh, you love it when I'm clingy." I say, pushing us back a little so that we're being partially supported by the council table.

"I don't recall ever stating something like that." Weiss says, chuckling.

"Maybe, but the fact you're not denying it tells me all I need to know."

As if to prove my point, I tilt my head to the side and lean forward to rake the pale skin of Weiss's neck with my teeth. Being the unexpected prey that she is, Weiss lets out a small squeak and instinctively moves a hand up to cover her mouth, the other still gripping my hair.

"See? You totally liked that."

Shifting back slightly to smirk at her, I take note of the flush that is now spreading throughout her face. The look she's giving me tells me she must have been surprised at my suggestive behavior, but it's also telling me that she's a little into it, which I assuredly won't take lightly.

Feeling more confident in myself, I slowly lean back into Weiss's neck, savoring the fruity scent of the body wash that she uses. She smells like apple orchards and freshly picked oranges on a sunny spring day. It's absolutely intoxicating to me, so much so that I have a hard time believing just her scent could be this captivating.

I stick my tongue out and carefully glide it across the smooth skin of Weiss's neck. She makes a muffled noise into her hand and I feel her grip in my hair tighten, her fingers curling roughly into the strands. Knowing that I'm the one causing her to act like this, I smile as I take my tongue and, again, run it across the supple flesh of her neck.

She makes an extremely high pitched noise into her hand and yanks on my hair a few times, like she's telling me to back up.

"R-Ruby, someone could- mmph!... S-Someone could see-"

I let out what's practically a growl, akin to that of an angry wolf pup who just had their meal taken from them. Forcibly prying myself from Weiss, I stomp my way over to the resource room's door that stands slightly ajar. Slamming it shut and pressing down the lock, I turn back towards Weiss and eye her in a borderline carnal way.

As I briskly walk back over to her, I try and save the mental image of the look she's giving me in my head, knowing I'll be using it later. Putting my hands on her hips, I make sure to run a thumb over her stomach in reassurance before I move my hands down to her thighs. Weiss looks like she might about kill me depending on what I do, but sooner than she gets the chance, I use my grip to lift her up and onto the council table.

"What on earth are you doing?" She manages to squeak out.

I grin at her and lean forward to give her a quick peck on the lips. "You'll see."

Scooching myself closer, so that I'm positioned standing between Weiss's legs as she sits on the table, I begin trailing my lips downwards from her mouth. Weiss makes a gasping noise as I sprinkle small kisses onto her cheek, her nose, her eyelids, and then lower to her neck. She takes to holding me around my shoulders, since her sitting up on the table gives her about a half foot height advantage on me.

I reach the end of her neck, where her shirt collar rests, properly buttoned and partially covered by her uniform's jacket. Using one of my hands, I fumble to get the top button open, making Weiss scoff at my failing attempts.

"Just what are you even scheming here, Ruby?" She asks, reaching down to lift my chin with one of her hands.

I feel my face burn at the implications of her words. "N-Nothing bad, I promise! I just, uhm, was going to try something a little, uhh, new? I swear I won't go too far."

Weiss raises an eyebrow, but overall seems satisfied by my answer and gives a shy nod of approval for me to continue.

Giving her another hasty peck on the lips for being so cute, I refocus my attention to Weiss's collar. Using both my hands, I undo the offending button with the equivalent of a drunk person trying to open a sliding door. Eventually, I get the small piece open, and as soon as I do, I grab the collar and pull it roughly to the side, exposing Weiss's collarbone.

She lets out another small noise as I dive in and run my mouth along her collarbone in small but sensual kisses. I've never seen skin so pure and as milky white as Weiss's, reminding me how truly beautiful she is in every way and how I love every little thing about her. In my book, Weiss is the definition of gorgeous.

I press wet kisses to the soft skin, eliciting confused and somewhat erotic whines from Weiss. Not wanting to keep her waiting much longer, I begin to nibble on the flesh in between her collarbone and shoulder.

"Mnn… mmph… R-Ruby."

Weiss squeezes my body that's still standing between her legs and I feel her head lull to the side to give me easier access to her neck.

As I begin to suck on her collarbone, it dawns on me how strange it is to see Weiss being so docile, blatantly allowing me access to mar her skin. The thought makes me smile and I continue teething her neck, almost like I'm marking my territory.

I don't know how I'm able to be so certain of myself right now, it's almost like as soon as I saw Weiss's flushed face a switch was flipped inside of me. I've never even done something like this before and I'm not sure if I'm doing it right, but from the sounds Weiss is trying to hold back right now, I can only assume I'm not doing _terrible._

"Don't muffle your voice, Weiss. I want to hear it." I say, taking my mouth off her skin for the first time in over a minute.

All I feel is Weiss's grip in my hair tighten as she continues holding back noise. "You D-Dunce- Ah… W-We're in a… mmph! C-Classroom for god sake."

I pout, but refuse to take my mouth away from her tantalizingly attractive collarbone. "I think your voice is cute, though…" I mumble into her flesh.

Realizing that my work almost seems to be completed, I run my hands along Weiss's legs in an attempt to satisfy my need for her before finally pulling back to look at what I'd accomplished.

Weiss's head is turned slightly to the opposite side of where I had marred her skin. One side of her uniform shirt is almost falling of her shoulder as a result of me holding it away for so long, which also exposes her white bra strap that I try real hard not to stare at. She's breathing heavy and her blindingly white hair is falling in her eyes as she looks to me in a side glance that make my knees almost buckle from how hot she looks.

 _Oh my god. I never thought I could be so turned on. Oh my god. Oh my god._

Wanting to take the focus off myself, I pull Weiss closer and give her a loving kiss on the mouth. She reciprocates, but I can tell she's a little tired, so I pull back after a minute and take a long look at her drained face, trying hard not to burst out laughing when I see the expression she's giving me.

"…Are you really that horny just from me giving you a hickey?"

Weiss's face turns beet red in an instant and her exhausted expression soon turns into a scowl as she moves to smack my arm. "D-Dunce! It's your fault for- f-for…"

"For what?" I ask, smirking at the guilty looking president. "Shoving you up on a desk and getting you all hot and bothered?"

Weiss looks at me with an annoyed expression and moves to fix her collar. Her hand freezes as she goes to move the fabric, looking at the fairly large hickey I'd given her. Trying not to smile, I watch in amusement as Weiss frantically tries to rub the spot away with her hand.

"Are you _serious,_ Ruby? How the hell am I supposed to hide this?" She says, looking exasperatedly over at me.

I shrug and lean back towards her to pull her into a hug. "I'm fine with you _not_ hiding it, but I'm sure if you're creative enough you can come up with something."

Weiss makes an attempt to pull out of my grip, but when she fails she takes to smacking my arm again, this time much harder than the first.

"Ow?!" I yelp, jumping back slightly out of surprise. "Geez, I was just kidding, Weiss. No one's going to see it if you have your collar up anyways…"

Weiss eyes the mark again with disdain and finally brings her collar back around, so she can button it up. "Ugh… You're infuriating."

Since I'm still positioned between Weiss's legs and she's still sitting up on the table, I decide I might as well take this chance to see if she's up for a little more. I push my way back against her and drop one of my hands down to her legs again, beginning to run my nails along them in a comforting pattern.

Weiss protests verbally but makes no move to get up, which she easily could if she wanted to.

"S-Stop that… ahh…"

Her words are forgotten as my mouth finds hers and we melt together once again in a heated battle for dominance. I honestly find it kind of cute how Weiss seems to think she has some semblance of control over the situation. As our heads tilt from side to side and our mouths lock over and over again, she makes frequent attempts to push against me, as though she had the upper hand in our position. Each time, I remind her how much more leverage I have from standing by pushing myself back into her with twice the force.

As our lips collide, I feel Weiss's arms wrap around my neck as she makes gasping sounds into my mouth. My own hands find themselves holding the underside of Weiss's thighs, something I can't seem to keep my mind off of, since I've been wanting to touch them for so long.

"I keep meaning to tell you how nice your legs are, Weiss. I think they're really attractive." I murmur against her, refusing to break the contact of our mouths.

To my utter surprise, Weiss lets out a low moan at the implications of my words. I briefly blink my eyes open out of pure shock, but quickly close them again as I make my own muffled noise into her lips and shove myself harder into her body.

"To be honest, when I first saw you I thought you were the most beautiful person I had ever seen." Drunk with Weiss's presence, I lazily peak out of my eyelids to get a look at her flushed face. Her cheek fidgets at the declaration and I feel a smile form against my own. "I still think so."

Pulling back slightly, I graze my lips over Weiss's face until I reach the scar over her eye, making sure I press a light kiss to it lovingly.

Both of us breathing heavy, we lean our heads against each other for a minute to catch our breaths. Our faces seem so close it's practically taking up my entire vision, not that I have any problems with that. Weiss's eyes, heavily lidded and looking back into mine, almost seem as though they're telling me unsaid words that we're both thinking. Words that I would wait a lifetime just to hear once.

 _I love you._

Weiss's piercing gaze dances along with mine, like it's showing me a story with no spoken words. She reaches a hand from around my neck and places it on my jaw, brushing a thumb over my cheek as she rests her head against mine.

"What are you waiting for…?" She questions, probably wondering why I'm staring at her instead of kissing her.

I smile and let out a content hum. "Nothing much… I was just thinking how much I love being around you and how I feel like the luckiest person in the world right now."

Leaning myself back towards her, we begin round three. This time, I feel unused tactics might be best perceived, since we're both already in the mood for experimenting.

Even though we're going much slower this time than the last, I let my tongue slide out of my mouth, brushing against Weiss's partially opened lips.

Taking a moment to process what I just did, Weiss actually jerks her head back from the kiss, staring at me in shock.

"Ruby, Wha-What was that?"

Panic quickly washes over me that I must have taken it too far, and I feel myself beginning to have a minor freak out. "S-Sorry! It just k-kind of happened." I babble out.

"You dolt." Weiss lets out a sigh and holds a hand to her temple. "Earthquakes _just happen._ Tornadoes _just happen._ Your tongue does not _just happen_ to fall into my mouth!"

"I know! I know! I'm sorry! It was just in the heat of the moment, I'm sorry… did you not like it?"

I turn dejectedly to the floor and my hands fall from Weiss's waist back down to my own sides.

"Ruby… don't make that face." Weiss says, reaching over to brush some of my hair behind my ears. "It just… surprised me is all."

I don't move my head, only able to glance up at her through my eyelids. "…Really?" I ask, pushing my pouting face back against Weiss's.

"Y-Yes." She confirms, her cheeks burning red from our impossibly close proximity.

"So… now that you're expecting it, can I do it again?"

Instead of responding, she slowly closes her eyes and I lean in once again with a smile on my lips.

* * *

Weiss and I end up leaving the school about half an hour later. Currently, I'm walking her to her house, which she tried to reassure me multiple times that I don't need to, but when I saw how it was beginning to get dark out, I decided it wouldn't hurt to go with her.

Rolling my bike alongside me, I'm forced to listen to one of Weiss's many rants about how the office faculty are useless. While I listen to her drone on, I've been thinking of teasing Weiss about her behavior back in the clubroom, but I think better of it, knowing it would probably just set her off more than she already is.

We pass by the many houses in her neighborhood, all still looking just as rich and huge as ever. Each time I see the fancy mansions that line the sidewalk, I'm always reminded of how different our lives are and that there is a fundamental difference in what our ideas of a 'home' is. However, I love knowing that, despite our many differences, we still seem to fit together perfectly and have an almost perfect understanding of each other.

Eventually, we reach Weiss's grand gate, which surprisingly already stands wide open.

I turn to shoot a curious glance at Weiss, who finally stops ranting and gives an inquisitive look at the open gate.

"Did you leave this open when you left this morning?" I ask her, distinctly remembering that she closed it when I came to pick her up.

Weiss mumbles a few words and goes over to the padlock for the device. Squinting at it, she presses a few buttons and then steps back as the gate makes a loud beeping sound. "It's been malfunctioning a little lately, must have just set itself off. I've been meaning to get it fixed but just haven't found a good time for it."

I follow behind her as she makes her way to the front door, tracing my hand along the fountain in the center of the driveway as I pass it.

"You should fix it as soon as possible." I say, beginning to walk up the steps to the front door. "I hate thinking that you're unsafe when you're home alone."

"Relax, Ruby. This is one of the nicest and most secure neighborhoods in town. No one would be able to sneak up on me that easy."

We reach the top of her steps and I frown, knowing this is the moment where we part ways. I'm about to grab Weiss's hands so I can pull her into a hug and then a goodbye kiss, but as I reach towards her I notice a blindingly white sports car parked in the driveway. I tilt my head in questioning, knowing that, besides her driver that she sometimes uses, I've never seen another car parked at Weiss's house before.

"Hey, do you know whose car that-"

I'm immediately cut off by a loud and demanding voice that makes both of us flinch.

"Weiss!"

I turn around to watch as a figure appears from around the corner of the house, looking miffed.

It's an older woman by the looks of it, dressed head to toe in a white uniform and wearing her hair back in a bun. She bears a creepily similar resemblance to Weiss herself, and as I turn back to give her a questioning look, I find her eyes staring wide in surprise and her mouth hanging slightly open out of pure shock.

"Oh, no."


	20. Two of A Kind

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 20: Two of A Kind**

"Oh, no." Weiss gasps, stepping away from me and frantically clasping her hands together in front of her.

The angry looking woman comes around the side of the house and steps onto the concrete sidewalk, her heels clacking even louder than Weiss's normally do.

I do nothing but stare wide-eyed at the woman, who is of some obvious relation to Weiss, as she walks up the stairs to where we stand.

"W-Winter!" Weiss stutters out, looking completely distraught. "I-I thought you weren't being dispatched until the spring?"

 _Wait… Winter? Winter as in Weiss's sister Winter?_

The woman reaches the top of the steps and gives me an indifferent glance over before turning to Weiss.

Her uniform is solid white with blue detailing that runs along the inside and cuffs of the outfit. She holds her hair in a neat bun that doesn't have a single strand spilling out of it and her bangs come down and over her face, almost hiding half her features. The way she is holding herself definitely looks like some sort of military stance mumbo-jumbo that I've read about, making it obvious to me that this is definitely Weiss's sister.

Showing a discontent frown, Winter eyes Weiss up and down. "What have I told you about stuttering?"

Weiss's flinches at her words, and I watch her eye twitch, like she realized she did something wrong.

"Sorry! It won't happen again." Weiss quickly corrects herself.

"And why are you home so late? Your school supposedly ended over three hours ago."

Weiss and I share a nervous glance at each other, but as soon as she looks over to me, Winter clears her throat to call back her attention. "Not maintaining eye contact with the person speaking to you? You know what father would say about that." She says, holding her chin up and squinting her eyes.

"Right, I'm sorry." Weiss responds, swiftly turning back to her sister. "I had council work to complete at school. Ru- Ah, I mean, the vice president offered to assist me with the tasks that needed to be done. It was getting dark, so she offered to walk me home."

Weiss's obvious mess up about not saying my name caught my attention as well as her sisters. I give a questioning look to Weiss, which she ignores in favor of maintaining eye contact with Winter, but the older Schnee looks just as disinterested in me as she did when she first got here.

This leaves me standing awkwardly to the side of the sisters as Winter continues to eye up Weiss, like she's trying to find some fault in whatever she's doing.

"What's with your posture? You were raised by humans, not orangutans."

"Ah, I'm sorry!" Weiss quickly repositions herself into a painfully straight pose with her hands still clasped in front of her.

"And stop apologizing." Winter commands.

"Of course!"

I frown and cross my arms over my chest, looking between the two strangely. If someone else were watching this, they would probably think it's some comedy sketch about military drills, not two sister reuniting after years of not seeing each other.

It strikes me that I've never seen Weiss be this obedient for anyone - not even me. Everything Winter has corrected, she's obeyed immediately, and though I'm not aware what the consequences would be if she didn't listen to her, I'm not quite sure why she's taking this from her older sister. From what Weiss has told me, I thought she hated Winter because she left her and didn't give her a word as to why, but looking at them now makes me think that might not be the full story.

As I frown, deep in thought, Weiss makes a quick glance towards my direction, most likely telling me to follow her sister's orders as well.

Instead of obeying her, I take a step towards the two Schnee's, forcing the older sister to look over to me.

"I think Weiss's posture is fine." I try saying in a solid voice, but it ends up coming out as more of an intimidated squeak.

Winter lets out an annoyed huff of air and turns her entire body to face me. "A good stance and posture reflect a proper and healthy state of mind. I don't wish people to see my sister slouching like some ape." She simply states.

I fiddle my thumbs together under the older woman's gaze. "Orangutans actually have vertical and horizontal posture, you know? They're super flexible and efficient!"

Weiss looks at me with a mixture of irritation and impatience, like she's telling me now isn't the time to be geeking out.

Winter gives me a grimace and leans down a little so we're more eye to eye, even though she's almost a good foot taller than both me and Weiss. The motion makes me feel like she sees me as a child, and I take a step back to retaliate that notion.

"And who might you be?" She asks.

"Ruby! Ruby Rose!" I respond, sticking my hand out for her to shake.

She takes it in a firm grasp and forcefully yanks it up and down twice before letting me go, leaving my arm dangling like a limp tree branch.

"Well, Ruby Rose, I think it would be best if you leave now. You have accomplished your task of walking my sister home, have you not?"

Her request catches me off guard. "Ah- Well, I mean, I guess I have…"

"Scurry along then, child. We appreciate the gesture, but your assistance is no longer needed."

I give Weiss a longing glance, knowing it's futile attempting to hug her based on the situation we're in right now. Nevertheless, Weiss mouths an apology to me as Winter loops an arm around her shoulder to lead her through the front door.

As I begin walking down the porch steps, I hear Winter continuing to lecture Weiss behind me as they enter the house.

"You really shouldn't be coming home so late, you know. And your uniform looks a mess, what on earth happened to it?" Another loud gasp from Weiss's sister makes me cringe. " _And what is that on your neck?_ "

* * *

I lazily run my hand through Zwei's fur as I lay on the couch, watching some reality TV with Yang and Blake.

Apparently, tonight's the finale of one of Yang's favorite shows, which is why Blake was insistently nagged to come over by my sister. I was paying attention to the show a while ago, but I can only watch 90 Day Fiancé for so long before wanting to claw my eyes out from the stupidity of these people.

I'm lying on my back, so that Zwei has comfortable spot being curled up on my stomach, Yang sits next to me with her feet propped up on our coffee table, and Blake is curled up at the end of the couch with a throw pillow under her arm. My dad is getting home pretty late tonight and I have no homework to do, hence why I accepted my sisters offer to watch some TV. However, I've been mostly zoning out rather than actually watching the flickering screen.

Weiss hasn't texted me since I left her house earlier today and I'm starting to get worried about her. We always text each other goodnight at the very least, but it's already past eight and I've gotten nothing from her.

Taking my phone out of my pocket and glancing at the empty screen again, I make a whining noise as I swipe up to look at the blank notifications.

"Are you going to keep pouting and staring at pictures of the pres on your phone all night?" Yang asks from beside me. "'Cause if you are, then could you at least do it in your room? I'm trying to watch my show here."

I angrily sit myself up, Zwei making a surprised noise as he slides off my stomach and onto my lap. "It's my screensaver, I'm not just looking at pictures of her! And she hasn't texted me since we left school, I think something might be wrong."

"Relax, Sis. She's probably too busy thinking of ways to dump you."

I throw one of the couch cushions at my sister's head, which she easily evades and sets down between her and Blake, who is avoiding being part of our antics by ignoring us. "That isn't funny, Yang! She's not breaking up with me! I'm just concerned because her sister is back in town and I wasn't able to ask if she was okay before I left."

"Weiss has a sister?" Blake questions, finally deciding to enter the conversation.

I nod, leaning down to scratch Zwei behind his ear. "Yeah, but apparently she joined the military and I don't think they've seen each other in a long time…"

"Well, then maybe they're just spending some time trying to catch up." Yang offers, shrugging her shoulders back.

"Maybe." I quietly acknowledge, knowing that's probably not the case. "Weiss told me they didn't exactly leave off on the best terms when they last saw each other, and from how militarized her sister spoke I thought she was about to start yelling at me to do laps around the house or something."

Yang sighs and runs a hand through her long golden locks. "You should stop worrying about your girlfriend so much, Sis, you're gonna get wrinkles."

Blake smacks Yang on the forearm, making her let out a surprised gasp and grab the pillow sitting between them, holding it up as a shield.

"I'm sure she's fine, Ruby. Weiss knows how to handle herself." Blake reaffirms, turning back to the TV.

I pout and plop back down on my back, Zwei immediately taking the chance to resituate himself back onto my stomach, which causes me to let out a grunt as he pads his paws on me.

"I know I shouldn't worry so much, she just has a lot of stuff going on, you know? And she still hasn't texted me back…" I mumble the last part to myself.

Yang glances over at me as I scroll through old notifications on my phone, giving me a somewhat worried look.

"Since you're not watching the show, how about we play a little game to keep your mind off the pres? You look like some kicked puppy when you're sad... It's just depressing to look at."

Ignoring her last comment, I perk up at the prospect of a distraction, feeling an excited smile form on my face. "What game?"

"Hmm…" Yang's legs move to the floor and she leans forward to rest her hands on her chin in thought. "How about - never have I ever?"

"Okay!" I say, gladly accepting anything that could potentially keep my mind off Weiss.

We turn to Blake, who's watching the TV, still trying hard not to be pulled into our antics. She glances at our pleading faces out of the corner of her eye and lets out a long, low sigh.

"Whatever." She quietly agrees, shifting slightly so that she's facing us.

I give an excited cheer and scooch myself towards the center of the couch as Yang slides down to prop her feet up on the table again. Zwei hops off my lap and jumps down to the floor, most likely retreating to his dog bed in the corner of our currently dim living room.

When he trots past Blake, she makes sure to shrink away briefly, only returning to her normal position after he's gone. Blake's never been very fond of dogs and our cute corgi is no exception.

"How does this work again?" I ask.

"You hold up your five fingers and name things you've never done." Yang holds up her open palm to demonstrate. "If the other person's done it, then they have to put a finger down. For example, never have I ever made kissy faces at the council president."

I frown at my sister, feeling a heat rise in my cheeks. "Geez, I get it. But you can't say any more about Weiss. This is to distract me, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just hold up your fingers." Yang casually dismisses me as she hold up her hand across from me, Blake doing the same at the other end of the couch. "I'll let you go first, Sis."

"Okay…" I scrunch up my face, thinking about something I could say that might get Yang out. "Never have I ever got home at four in the morning after clubbing and asked my sister to cover for me."

"You can't say things you already know!" Yang exclaims, like that bit of information was completely obvious.

"But that wasn't how you explained the rules!"

"Okay fine, never have I ever cried in the middle of Costco because dad wouldn't let me get a plus-sized package of cookies."

"Yang! I was like ten years old! That's not fair!" I say, nervously glancing at Blake, who's looking back at the TV and seemingly pretty bored with this whole thing.

"Exactly! So, we can't say things we already know."

"…Fine." I begrudgingly agree.

Yang nods her approval at me and turns her head to Blake, signaling it's her turn. "Blake, your go."

The dark-haired girl turns back to face us with a thoughtful look. "Hmm… Never have I ever been on an airplane."

"You've never been on an airplane!?" Yang's mouth practically drops open.

Blake just raises an inquisitive eyebrow at my sister. "It's not that strange, is it?"

"You're eighteen years old and you've never been on a freaking airplane? Yeah, that's kind of strange. I mean, even Ruby and I have been on one for a family trip, it was like ten years ago."

Blake just shrugs her shoulders and leans back against the couch. "I'm not a fan of traveling. However, I do believe that means both of you put a finger down."

"Drat." I say, putting down my thumb.

Yang holds down one of her fingers as well, but also continues to shake her head incredulously at Blake. "One of these days we gotta get you on an airplane. Maybe seeing what's outside will actually make you want to go out more."

"It's a possibility." Blake says, in an extremely skeptical tone.

"Guys it's my turn!" I complain, making them both stop chatting and turn to me. "Let's see… Never have I ever been the oldest in my class."

Yang puts another finger down and Blake keeps hers up.

"You guys must be ganging up on me or something." My sister mutters, only being left with three fingers. "Oh, I got one! Never have I ever done a keg stand."

I keep my finger up, while Blake turns to Yang with a look of resentment as she rolls her eyes and puts a finger down.

"Woah," I say, looking between the two. "I would have never expected you to do something like that, Blake."

"Yeah, well, sometimes _certain_ individuals-" Blake's eyes narrowed at my sister. "-Force you to go to college parties to get blasted out of your mind."

My sister gives an innocent shrug. "Hey! I never actually saw you do a keg stand and you weren't _that_ opposed to going."

"I most definitely was, not that it matters now." Blake says shifting uncomfortably on the couch. "Anyways, it's my turn. Never have I ever… binge watched an entire series in under a week."

Yang and I look at each other and guiltily put one of our fingers down.

Just as I am about to complain, I feel a short buzz from my pocket that makes me jump in surprise.

Yang groans as I fumble my phone out of my pocket and look at my notifications.

 **Weiss: Are you busy?**

"Ah! It's Weiss!"

Yang rolls her eyes and reaches for the remote on the table, so she can turn the volume back up on her show. "Yay. You finally got your booty-call from the pres. Now you can stop moping."

Ignoring my sister's jabs, I quickly type my reply.

 **Ruby: I'm not busy but I've been really worried about you! Are you alright?**

It takes Weiss a minute to respond.

 **Weiss: I'm fine. Could you meet me at the park near the back of my neighborhood?**

 **Ruby: Of course! I'll be there in 15.**

 **Weiss: Okay. See you soon.**

Slipping my phone into my pocket, I swing my legs off the couch and make my way over to the entryway to grab my jacket and put on my shoes.

"Everything alright, Sis?" Yang asks, peaking her head into the foyer from the living room.

"I'm not sure, but I'm meeting with Weiss." I say as I finish tying my sneakers.

"Alright… Just don't stay out too late alright? And bring a jacket, it's starting to get cold out."

"I know. I know." I mumble, grabbing my jacket off the rack.

The jacket is a bright orangey-red color, since it's a hand-me-down from my dad, and I've always hated the way it looks. It might not be the most fashionable of clothing but at least I know I'll be warm.

Slipping on one of the sleeves, I use my other hand to open the door, subjecting me to the dark and chilly air.

"Be safe okay?" I hear Yang call from the living room.

I give a hasty nod before pulling the door shut behind me and racing to my bike.

* * *

It's about twenty minutes later before I manage to find the small park in the back of Weiss's neighborhood.

The park consists of a small jungle gym with multiple slides connected to it and a pair of swing sets sitting in some nearby mulch. On the outskirts there are various picnic tables scattered about, plenty of large oak and pine trees, and a lone grill towards the back.

I kick out my bike stopper and leave it in some grass by the side of the road as I walk up to the playground.

A brief scan of the dimly lit area, only still visible because of the many streetlights, indicates a lone sole gently rocking on the swing closest to the jungle gym.

"Weiss…" I sigh with relief, walking over and bending down to give her a tight hug. "Sorry I'm late! Are you alright!? I was so worried about you!"

"I told you I'm fine… What on earth are you wearing?"

"Huh?" I say looking questioningly down at my jacket. "Oh, this was my dad's."

"It looks ridiculous. Orange is definitely not your color."

I frown and glance up to take another look at Weiss. I can see her breath in the chilly air as she spoke and her shoulders, being covered only by a light blue blouse, shivering as she holds her arms to her chest in an attempt to stay warm.

I quickly unzip my jacket and walk around the swing she's sitting on to place it on her back, rubbing her shoulders as I do so.

"Ruby, you shouldn't-"

"Shh..." I say, leaning down to place my forehead against the back of her head and breathing hot air onto her neck. "…Tell me what's wrong."

I feel Weiss give a small kick to the trampled mulch under the swing, rocking herself a little bit as I wait patiently for her response.

"I- To be honest- I really don't know…" She said, shoulders deflating a bit. "After you left earlier, Winter did nothing but complain to me about the poor condition the house is in, and how everything she told me to do was wrong somehow… It was just a lot to handle at once."

"Mmm." I hum acknowledgment into the back of her neck.

Feeling her shivering go down considerably, I give her a quick kiss on the back of her head before standing up straight and walking a couple feet over to the swing next to hers.

"I mean, don't get me wrong," Weiss huffs agitatedly. "I loved seeing her - catching up and all that. I haven't seen her in – well – it honestly feels like forever, but she's changed so much now… I'm just not sure if the Winter I remember before the military is still there…"

Weiss hangs her head and closes her eyes briefly. "Sorry… I know that must sound stupid."

"It doesn't sound stupid, Weiss." I affirm, reaching over and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. This earns me a small smile that I gladly mirror. "Does it make you feel lonely?" I ask.

Weiss shakes her head and looks out towards the playground equipment.

"No. I haven't felt lonely in a long time." She says, giving me a small glance before looking forward again. "I might have had a small panic attack earlier, but I was able to push through it without my meds. I just think I'm stressed and unable to really do anything in this situation, you know? I mean, what can I do? Send my sister back to military school?"

I sadly kick some mulch and bite my lip as I try to think of something to say.

"I was kind of in a similar situation when my mom passed…" I quietly acknowledge, earning almost immediate attention from Weiss, most likely do to this being a rare topic for me to bring up.

"Even though I was young when it happened, I always had this overhanging feeling of spite towards her. It was like I blamed her for what happened and for my life being the wreck that it was for so long. It was only until I was a lot older that I realized the spite - the anger - was to mask the helplessness I felt about her leaving me."

I feel Weiss stand up from the swing set and walk towards me. As she nears, I grab her waist, so I can burry my face into her stomach. I feel Weiss's hands sifting comfortingly through my hair.

"My old friends would make me think what happened to her was my fault – they would blame me and make me feel small, vulnerable. It was only until I started high school when I realized that was no way to carry myself. I worked hard to become the person I was when I met you, and I'm glad I did."

"I'm sorry, Ruby. I had no idea what you had been through." Weiss says, continuing to brush her dainty hands through my messy hair.

"S'okay." I mumble into her chest. "It's not your fault… Sorry for stealing you thunder there."

Weiss gives a soft chuckle, something I quickly decide as one of my new favorite sounds in the whole world.

"That's quite alright." She says. "You know, people tend to think that being alone is what makes you lonely, but I don't think that's necessarily true. In my experience, it's being surrounded by the wrong people that's the loneliest thing in the world."

I give a small smile into the orange jacket that now smells like Weiss and feels so much warmer than when I was wearing it. "I guess you're right."

"Maybe we're not that different after all." Weiss says.

For the next few moments we stay silent, listening to nothing but the mild wind rustling the pine trees that surrounded the park and each other's breath that I eventually have trouble deciphering whose it was between us. Not that it matters.

"Soo…" I begin. "I heard your sister, uhm, noticed the thing…?"

I look up and Weiss gives me a quizzical glance. I use one of my fingers to poke the side of her neck that I had left a mark on earlier today in the clubroom, making Weiss let out a surprise yelp and step back from me.

"Ouch!" She exclaims, holding a hand to the offending mark. "You absolute Dolt, because of you I had to lie to my sister and tell her I burned myself with a flat iron."

I giggle and push myself back on the swing set. "Oh, what a tragedy." I joke, putting a hand up to my chest as though I'd been shot.

"Speaking of Winter, I almost forgot, she wants you to come over for dinner sometime next week."

"…Huh?" I ask, thinking about how much the older Schnee ignored my presence last time I saw her.

"Well, not _you,_ for say. She wants to meet the vice president, who I mentioned I was very close with and is a great hand to have around school."

"I see." I slowly acknowledge, worry making its way across my face.

"It's only something she mentioned. Half the things she said to me made no sense, and I was having a hard-enough time in general trying to rationalize her reasoning, as she kept ranting to me about how many forks were in the cupboard or how the stair banisters were misaligned."

I roll my eyes and stand up, walking over to one of the short rock climbing walls that leads to a platform on the jungle gym.

"One of the things my dad always used to say to me was that not understanding something is practically human condition." I say, hearing Weiss walk up behind me as I start climbing the wall. "He said I was going to make some wrong decisions in my life, but that it would be okay. The only thing I should be ashamed of is failing to correct those mistakes."

"That's quite a lovely statement." Weiss says, eyeing the playground equipment warily.

I offer her a hand up, which she gladly excepts as she tries to find her footing on the short rock wall.

I help her to the top and when I give her a last pull upwards, I make sure to give her a quick kiss before I jump up a few more platforms.

"You know, Ruby, I'm not usually good at things like this… but I guess you bring out the kid in me again."

 _You're still a kid, Weiss._

I keep my thoughts to myself as I watch Weiss attempt some… not-so-athletic jumps to make her way up the platforms, before reaching the one I'm on and giving me a triumphant smirk.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm not good enough for you." I say, looking into Weiss's icy blue irises and giving her a wry smile.

Weiss leans closer to run a thumb across my cheek, cupping my chin in the process.

"Trust me, you're more than enough, Ruby…" She whispers, closing the small distance between us.


	21. The Human Condition

**I Think I Like You – Weiss POV**

 **Chapter 21: The Human Condition**

"I'm really nervous, Weiss. I don't think this is good idea..."

"And why's that?" I ask with obvious annoyance, attempting to straighten Ruby's shirt collar for the tenth time.

"I don't know… It's just the last time I saw your sister it didn't go _great_ or anything, she barely even acknowledged me. I just don't want to make a bad impression, y'know?"

Giving a huff of irritation at Ruby's difficult attitude, I reach down to roll up the cuffs of her sleeves properly. "We've been over this, Ruby. Winter might not give off the most… _hospitable_ atmosphere to guests, but she really wants to meet you and I think this could be a good chance for you two to get along."

"But _you_ two don't even get along." She complains, making me purposefully yank the cuff of her sleeve as I continue rolling it up. "Hey, I'm just pointing out the obvious. How in the hell am I supposed to make peace with your sister when you can't even hold a proper conversation with her?"

"Look, Winter has been in the army for almost a decade now. I don't expect things to be just as they used to, she changed any chance of that the moment she left without telling me."

I start agitatedly working on Ruby's other cuff as she lets out a whine of protest and glances at my front door.

We're currently standing off the side of my driveway, so I can help Ruby put herself together before we head in for dinner. I told her to wear something nice, which she did comply with, but when she pulled up on her bike with her hair and clothes already tousled, I realized I should have had her come ten minutes earlier.

Even though I'm attempting to appear collected for Ruby's sake, I'm more anxious than I'm willing to admit, feeling my hands clam up at the thought of Ruby having to hold a conversation with someone as manic as my sister.

Winter didn't use to be this way. For the past week I've been trying to figure out what's been causing her to act as strait-laced and irritable as she's been. I can't recall a time she ever acted this way before she left for the military, so something must have happened to change her behavior over the years.

Nevertheless, I've been doing my best to follow her orders and take her coarse comments as criticism, hoping that maybe this will eventually be enough to please her and bring part of the old Winter back, the one that would spar with me during her spare time and crack jokes every now and again.

I feel Ruby tug her hand away slightly and give a feeble look to the end of the driveway.

"Maybe I should just go-"

She makes a move to turn in the opposite direction, but I pull her back by her shirt and continue smoothing out some of the wrinkles in it.

"Ruby Rose, you are not going anywhere."

"But-"

" _But_ , we have been training all week for this. I promise you'll be fine."

* * *

 **-One Week Previous-**

Ruby stares hard at the silverware I have meticulously laid out before her, probably never having seen so many utensils assigned to a single dinning set.

She studies the tools before her calculatedly, as if looking at them for long enough will give her the answer she needs.

Glancing up at me nervously, she slowly reaches for the fork resting above the plate, sitting right next to the water glass.

"Wrong." I say, crossing my arms.

Ruby grimaces and reaches for the fork closest to the right side of the plate.

"Wrong!" I say again, frustrated with Ruby's poor listening skills. "I said the _salad_ fork, not the dinning fork."

"Gah! Whatever! This is so stupid!" She gripes, throwing the last possible fork towards me on her kitchen counter and leaning back in her chair.

"It's not stupid." I say, picking up the fork and setting it back in place. "It's necessary."

"Why can't we just order pizza or something for dinner with your sister? Does it really matter if I don't know the difference between a tea spoon and a soup spoon?"

"As a matter of fact, it does." I say, throwing a vain look at Ruby, who is pouting like a child.

"You should listen to your girlfriend, Rubes." Yang says as she walks past us through the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing a half-empty milk carton. "You can't keep 'em pleased forever, might as well not piss her off now."

"I'm not trying to piss her off." Ruby whines, running a hand through her scruffy hair. "I'm just saying there has to be an easier way to go about this."

I let out an exasperated sigh as I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I've tried telling you that Winter is very meticulous about this stuff. You should have spent some time studying a few of the mannerism sites I sent you, but no, you just _had_ to wait until the last minute."

"Hey! Don't blame this on me! It's _your_ sister."

"I'm absolutely blaming this on you-"

Yang interrupts our arguing, slamming the fridge loudly and taking a long gulp out of the milk carton, finishing it and throwing it towards to nearest trashcan.

"Kobe!"

The carton bounces off the trashcan, hitting the floor and slowly sliding towards me as we all watch it.

"Way to go, Yang." Ruby says, huffing and spinning one of the spoons on the table with her finger.

"Look, you guys are way too tense about this. How about just making a cheat sheet or something?"

"And how do you suppose we do that?" I inquire, picking up the carton and walking to the trash can to throw it away.

"I dunno." Yang shrugs, nonchalantly. "I always write on my wrists when I'm cheating for a test or something."

"Ooh, good idea!" Ruby cheerfully agrees.

"I'm not normally one for cheating, but that might have to be an option..." I admit, walking back over to the table and leaning my arms onto it.

Yang and Ruby grin, exchanging a rather loud high-five that makes me wince.

"However," I state, holding a finger up, making the sisters freeze in place. "That still does not fix your lack of mannerism and lack of… acceptable fashion sense."

Ruby frowns. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" She asks, looking down at her red-striped shirt and beat up sneakers.

"Nothing's… _wrong_ with it. Your fashion sense is very… you. For this dinner though, you might need something more fitting. I'll just have to pick you up some clothes and have one of my drivers drop them off sometime before next week."

"And what're you gonna do about her lack of _mannerism_ , Pres?" Yang sarcastically asks, picking up one of the glasses and taking a fake sip out of it.

I hold a finger to my chin and give Ruby a look over, noting how her hair falls into her face as she gives me a curious glance.

"…That's something we might have to keep working on."

* * *

 **-Present-**

"Please, Weiss, let me go! I don't wanna go in!"

"You're going in!" I say, stomping my foot down and dragging an unwilling Ruby up the steps to my door.

"B-But I don't remember what to say! I'm gonna freeze! You know how bad I am with people!"

Tugging her up some more steps, I let out an audible grunt. "Yes, which is why I've been teaching you what to say the _entirety_ of this past week."

Ruby continues to struggle, however not nearly as forcefully as we reach the last step.

"This dinner is very important to me, you know?" I say quietly, noting the guilty look Ruby gives me. "Just think of it as a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant."

"Yeah, a restaurant with your sister there. Judging my every move. No big deal."

"Ruby." I say, asking for her attention, which she gives me after a moment of hesitation. " _Please_ … You're not just here to meet Winter, I need you here for _me_."

Ruby gives a solemn nod and takes a deep breath. "I know. I know." She says, apologetically.

After another moment of hesitation, she grabs one of my hands and runs her thumb across the snowflake bracelet that's hanging from my wrist.

"Do I at least get a reward if I behave?" She cheekily asks.

I give her a small smile in return and press one of my fingers to the tip of her nose. "We'll see."

Just then, my front door swings open, revealing a surprised Winter.

She's dressed in her usual white pantsuit and heels, with her hair pulled back and a smile plastered on her face.

"Oh, Weiss. You didn't inform me our guest had arrived already."

I quickly turn myself to face Winter and give her a small curtsy in greeting. "Yes. She just arrived. I was escorting her inside."

Ruby gives a nervous wave and Winter steps onto the porch to offer her a hand to shake. Ruby takes it and gives it a firm shake up and down, making her sleeves come up to where you could slightly see the notes written on her wrist.

She swiftly pulls it back down and gives a nervous chuckle. "Hello, Winter. I'm Ruby, vice president of the student council."

"As I have been told." Winter says letting her hand go and folding it right behind her a back. "Weiss has told me a lot about you, but we will get to that soon. Please, come in, the food our chef prepared will be getting cold."

With that, Winter briskly walks back through the front door and into the foyer.

When Ruby looks at with me a questioning glance, I give her a thumbs up, telling her she did good with the introduction.

A thousand-watt smile forms on her face as she shakes some of her nerves before following my sister inside.

I feel my heart take an unexpected leap in my chest at her expression. I've always loved Ruby's smile.

* * *

We follow my sister through a large corridor, off the side of the foyer that leads to our chef's kitchen and family dining room. Winter had originally wanted to use to dining hall, but I told her I thought it would be a bit too much for one guest.

We enter through a large archway to our dining room, which is currently decorated in many fall colors and a grand chandelier that hangs low over the table, providing ample lighting for the fair-sized room.

The full meal is laid out on the table, consisting of risotto, paella, steak, and a variety of salads and side dishes.

"My apologies for the rug. I am aware that it doesn't match the rest of the room, but I could have sworn we had a different one the last time I was here..." Winter trails off.

Ruby glances at me in confusion, then at the green colored rug, and then back at Winter, realizing she's supposed to give some sort of input.

"Oh, uh. I think the rug is just fine?"

Winter nods and looks distastefully at the object as she steps on it. "I have already ordered a replacement, but it won't come in until next Tuesday, I believe. I could have sworn this was not our fall rug, though. Do you know when this happened, Weiss?"

I look down at the random item she's somehow fixated herself to this time, hoping this dinner would be over quick.

"I don't know. Father changes some of the furniture every few years. He probably just replaced it." I inquire, pulling out my chair in the middle of the table.

Winter walks to the end of the table to take her seat, continuing to mumble to herself and straightening some of the silverware as she passes.

Ruby looks at her in bewilderment as she takes her seat towards the other end of the table, but I just wave her off when she looks to me in questioning, already being used to my sister's neurotic behavior.

I notice Ruby looking around the room, spotting a trophy case that she seems particularly interested in.

"Are those Weiss's trophies?" She asks. "There's so many of them."

Winter finishes aligning her plate properly and looks towards the trophy case. "Yes, well, some of them belong to our brother, Whitley, and some of them are mine as well, I believe."

"That's pretty cool. What're they all for?"

"Well, most of mine are from the military and most of Whitley's are from academics. Weiss, however, used to be a master of all trades. Hers range from sports, academics, and singing competitions. She used to be so adept in so many things..." She begins trailing off again.

Winter stands up and begins cutting servings of all the meal portions for me and Ruby, and I sigh a breath of relief that Ruby wouldn't have to figure that part out herself. Ruby, however looks a little put off by the way my sister is speaking, of course, this too is something I'm already used to.

I feel myself twitch as I hand my plate over to sister. "I still excel at many things. I'm in the top five percent of our grade when it comes to my GPA and the council has been more successful than ever this year."

"Yes, yes. I understand." Winter brushes me off as she hands my plate back, which is now full of vegetables and various meat. "You just used to be so good at a multitude of talents and you had all your competitions to attend. You should consider playing sports again."

I give a half-hearted shrug and look down at my plate. "I guess I'll think about it…"

My sister finishes setting up our plates and sits down in her own seat to begin cutting into her meal. I catch a glance of how she eyes Ruby, who is staring anxiously at her different silverware, probably trying to remember which one she's supposed to use.

Ruby shrugs her cuff a little bit, most likely looking at some of the notes she'd scribbled along her wrist. Although it had looked like chicken scratch to me, after a moment she manages to pick up the correct fork and cutting knife.

When my sister gives her an approving look, I feel some unnoticed tension escape my muscles as I begin cutting into my own food.

"So," Winter begins. "You're the vice president that Weiss has been telling me about? From what I hear you are quite the little helper."

I can tell Ruby didn't like my sister calling her 'little' but she seems to quickly get passed it as she continues cutting into her steak.

"Heh, yeah that's me."

"What sort of activities exactly do you help with? If you don't mind me asking." Winter inquires as she takes a bite of her steak.

"Oh, lots of stuff." Ruby says with a mouthful, quickly swallowing when my sister raises an eyebrow at her. "Anything from paperwork to making banners and plastering them all over the hallway – if you can name it - it's most likely the student council's job."

After a moment, Winter gives a short chuckle, which relaxes me enough to start breathing more normally and not in the nervous breaths I've been taking.

"That sounds like some diligent work. I know Weiss used to love coloring and making pictures. Mother would hang them up on the fridge."

I feel heat rise in my cheeks and I quickly swallow the bread in my mouth, ignoring the amused glace from Ruby. "Y-Yeah when I was like five maybe."

Winter shakes her head. "Weiss, please, don't scarf down your food. And stop acting so uncivilized and place your napkin in your lap."

"Ah, sorry…" I apologize, quickly fiddling with my napkin and draping it across my lap, along the end of my dress.

Winter _tsks_ at me and turns her attention back to Ruby, who's eyeing my sister with an irked expression.

"May I ask how you got involved with the council, Ruby? Back when I was president I remember the council was much bigger than a measly eight students. It seems your recruitment skills have gotten a bit… off track."

My finger flicks nervously on my glass as I take a sip of water, having felt my mouth go dry for some reason, like someone was shoving cotton balls down my throat.

Ruby finishes taking a sip of her water and calmly looks across the table to my sister.

"I was recruited by Weiss during the first week of school, since the last vice president moved over summer break. It was my friend Penny who actually recommended me for the position." Ruby says, uneasily scratching the back of her neck. "I can't say I was really looking forward to it at the time, but after meeting all the members and running a few events, I think it got through to me that I really liked doing it."

"I see. Does the council room still have that large oak table in the center?"

Ruby nods and takes a bite of peas. "Yep. Although Nora did almost break it one time, when she tried to see if she could do a backflip on it."

Winter gives a displeased look before taking a sip of her wine. "I did so love that table, no matter how uncomfortable it may have been. I have very fond memories of my time in the council as well, though from what you say it sounds a bit more… _rowdier_ than before. Weiss has never had the best judge in character."

Ruby looks bothered by my sister's words and hastily swallows the food in her mouth.

"I think everyone in the council is great." She says slowly, letting her softening eyes wonder to me. "They're all really talented people, Weiss especially."

I appreciate Ruby attempting to back me up, but if I'm being honest with myself, it's not much use around Winter.

"Of course Weiss is talented, she has so much to uphold in her position. During my time as president, we had around twenty kids in the council, all appointed by either myself or Mrs. Goodwitch. I remember taking Weiss to a few of our meetings when she was just a toddler. The other kids just adored seeing her, always fussing over who got to sit by her."

Ruby grins and I feel my face heat up once again.

"I was fairly young at the time. I-I don't remember it that well." I admit, picking at my food.

" _Weiss,_ " Winter snaps at me out of nowhere, making both me and Ruby jump slightly. "For goodness sake, sit up straight young lady. I will not have you slouching at this table."

I hastily reposition myself so that I'm sitting with perfectly aligned posture, giving a quick apology to Winter.

Ruby's eyes narrow as my sister clears her throat to continue.

"Where was I…? Oh, yes, the council of course. The council used to be a place where any students could visit and offer a suggestion or idea. With the resources and availability we were provided with, we were usually able to fix any problem from cafeteria food to running a variety of clubs events. However, I suppose that isn't exactly possible with the amount of people involved now, is it?"

Ruby shrugs and thumbs the fork in her hand.

"Even with only eight people we have been able to do plenty this year, and since I know what I'm doing now and know how the council works, I'll be twice as helpful next semester."

Winter gives a thoughtful nod and takes another sip of wine.

Much to by disbelief, this has been going better than I had expected it to so far, other than Winter's minor comments toward me. If I wasn't already used to the way she's treated me since she got back, I would probably be more hurt than I feel right now.

It's always the same thing – Winter bringing up a fond memory that she likes and then ridiculing me in some way about the way I am now.

I would be lying if I said I don't regret telling her all the details with the council and my personal life. I just wanted her to know about me, everything that's happened in my life, after all these years we've spent apart. _I_ want to know about _her_.

We used to be so close, regardless of our age difference. I suppose it was too much to ask for things to be the way they used to. It's quite foolish of me now that I think about it.

"Yes, I suppose there has been quite a lot done in the council this year. Weiss, you should really take some more advice from this one here. She seems to know a good bit about running the council." My sister inquires, swirling some of the liquid in her glass and taking a sip.

"Yeah, well, that's why she's the vice president..." I mumble, almost instantly regretting my tone of voice.

"Well, with an attitude like that you better watch out. When it comes to elections, I don't think arrogance is what makes a winner. This one here seems to be much more lively." My sister says, motioning towards Ruby.

The thought of Ruby actively wanting to be in charge of the council and take over my position is something I find to be plenty amusing. Imagining her walking into a meeting prepared and on time is something she's only able to do if I walk with her, and even then, all she does is complain the whole time.

A small chuckle escapes my mouth before I'm able to catch it, and I quickly clear my throat and straighten up.

"Is something funny, Weiss? I assure you this is no joke. You're already slacking enough in the council as is, I don't need your manners to begin faltering as well."

"Right. I'm sorry." I say, not having the inclination to argue.

I feel a thick rope of despair slink its way around my shoulders, all of my sister's words echoing in my head, having been tormenting me for this past week.

I feel heavy.

I'm not proud to say I've been lying to Ruby most of the week, telling her I'm fine when, in reality, my anxiety from Winter's visit has shot through the roof and I've been plunged into a similar dark space that I feel when I'm around my father.

I know most of what she says isn't true.

I know that. _I know that_.

I know that - but still - I'm upset about it.

I don't want her to view me the way she does, like I've fallen off or gotten off track, but I can't figure out what she's thinking half the time and her thought process is so rapid I can't keep up. I've never seen someone change subjects as fast as she sometimes does, making me surprised that she's been holding herself back throughout dinner.

"I don't think I would ever consider running for president, much less taking Weiss's position." Ruby carefully says, giving a glance my direction across the table.

I feel myself shake slightly and I feel my muscles tense, knowing what was about to happen. I begin taping my shoe on the rug in a very uneven motion to try and suppress myself from shaking too visibly, even if it isn't too bad right now, I don't want it to get worse.

"With the amount of tact she exhibits nowadays, I wouldn't be too sure yet. Weiss used to be so good at the table, I never had to remind her of any manners or behaviors, as any good Schnee should know proper etiquette."

"I don't think Weiss's tact is the one in need of repair." Ruby says, her voice becoming increasingly inimical.

Winter raises her eyebrows, realizing something she said might have been a bit too much, and I grit my teeth to try and control how rapidly I was hitting the carpet with my heel.

"Apologies, I must have misspoken, I only meant to say that she needs a little reminding these days, nothing more. I think Weiss is quite exceptional in that department, regardless."

I'm about to excuse myself from the table, but just as soon as I open my mouth, Ruby finally snaps. She loudly screeches her chair back from the table and stands up, pointing an incriminating finger at my sister.

"If you actually think that then why are you being so mean to her!? The entire time I've been here you've done nothing but _ridicule_ her!"

Tense silence stretches across the room. I feel my shaking slightly subside, but I bite my tongue as I look to my sister across the table.

Winter stares at Ruby, perplexed. "I assure you I am not being mean to her, I simply don't want my sister to fall out of line in a way that could end up hurting her later. A Schnee is supposed to know how to act."

Ruby throws her hands up, giving an unbelieving and bitter laugh.

"What's that even supposed to mean!? Who cares if she doesn't use the right fork for her salad or if her posture isn't as _straight_ as the apparent stick up your ass!?"

" _Ruby-!_ " I shout sharply, attempting to intervein.

"Weiss doesn't have to listen to you." She continues, animosity dripping into her words as she speaks them. "She's perfect and she can do whatever she _damn_ well likes. And _you_ sure as shit don't have the right to walk in here - after god _knows_ how many years - and tell her otherwise."

Ruby glares at Winter across the table, her posture displaying outraged hostility. I look nervously between them, worried that fists my start to be thrown in the next few minutes if I don't do something.

Thankfully, Winter's stance falters when she notices my distressed look.

"I'm only trying to help-"

"Bullshit." Ruby shakes her head, giving Winter an incredulous look. "All you're doing is making her feel bad about herself, and here she is trying her best to follow _every little order_ you give her and taking in all of your barbed and ludicrous accusations."

Ruby gives my sister a cold look that I never would have thought her capable of, judging from the happy-go-luck Ruby I usually see.

"Well, I got some criticism for _you_ , Winter. You're not in the military anymore, so how about you stop acting like a bully and start acting like an older sister."

A moment of silence passes throughout the room, tense enough that someone would feel the strain if they were to walk in.

I look over to Winter, who has a distant look in her eyes as she dusts off her pants and pulls her chair back.

"Excuse me for a moment." She says, briskly walk behind me and out through the kitchen.

Ruby continues staring heatedly at the floor, breathing heavily in anger, and a few seconds later I hear a muffled door thumping shut.

Letting out a long sigh, I brush off my dress and sit back down, putting my head in my hands.

After a few moments of silently fuming, Ruby ruffles her hair and turns to me, looking like a kicked puppy.

"I-I'm sorry, Weiss. I didn't mean-"

"Ruby." I say, sounding more tired than I expected. "It's fine. I'm going to go talk to her… but I think it would be best if you…"

"Waited here?" Ruby finishes guiltily.

I nod and stand up, noticing Ruby grimace as she sits back down.

Before I leave to go find Winter, I walk over to where Ruby sits and lightly place a still mildly shaky hand on her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze.

"Thank you by the way… for standing up for me."

* * *

After taking a few minutes to pull myself together in one of the many hall bathrooms, I feel my shaking go down significantly and my breathing slow to a normal degree.

Before I leave, I make sure to splash some water on my face and wash my hands to help sooth me.

I wander the house for the next few minutes, opening doors to rooms and closets that probably haven't been used in years. Most rooms have a thin layer of dust coating the area like a sheet, probably because the last time we had the cleaners come visit was about a month ago. Of course, this was already one of the many qualms Winter has expressed to me about the house.

I eventually walk around to the back hall, glancing out the windows and into the back garden as I pass. We have many gardeners who come here and spruce up all of the tall bushes and flower beds that line the intricate pathways that cover the entirety of the backyard.

Coming up to the clear garden doors, I finally spot Winer, sitting on the top steps of the stairway that leads down to the koi pond at the central most point of our backyard.

Sliding the door open, I take care stepping onto the concrete, not wanting to trip in my heels. Winter doesn't acknowledge my entrance but gives a loud sigh as I near her.

I flatten down the back of my dress with my hands as I sit down on the top step next to her, letting my legs rest to the side on a few steps down.

"You know, when I first entered the military the first thing they told me was that it was not only an honor to serve, but a life changing experience." My sister begins, eyes focused out towards the koi pond. "I, of course, didn't believe either of those things. I didn't see it as an honor to serve my country – I saw it as a way to escape. As a Schnee we've never had a choice in what we do, but the moment I was introduced to my first teammate, my first sergeant, and my first drill, I didn't feel like I was being punished – I felt content."

I scrunch up my face in thought. "Why would you be being punished?"

 _It was you who decided to join the military in the first place._

"Punished might not be the right word for it… atone, perhaps? Anyways, I knew the second I started training that this was what I must have been meant to do from the start, not run some bank company that I clearly only had interest in because I wanted to uphold the family name, and because of this, there was a sense of shame I felt from being in the military."

"That still doesn't explain your – uhm… disposition - does it?" I carefully question her.

Winter forcibly chuckles and shakes her head, placing her arms across her knees.

"I suppose while in the military I might have developed a… _slight_ case of neurosis. I apologize if it gets too much to handle sometimes, it's harder for me to catch it now that I don't have a set routine every day."

I nod and look up at the night sky, my vision being obscured by my breath as I exhale into the cold night air.

What she's saying makes sense, and I've pretty much assumed it was because of the military from day one of her coming back, however, it still doesn't really explain her attitude towards me.

"I'm sincerely sorry for the way I've been treating you. I haven't been fair to you." She quietly admits.

"It's okay, Winter. I'm sorry for the way Ruby behaved. It was-"

"It was necessary." Winter speaks assuredly, a small smile tugging at her lip. "And quite brave if I do say so, but it was… it was something I needed to hear."

"Yeah." I say, scrunching up my shoulders in uncertainty.

"I was just so… so _focused_ on making sure everything was just as it used to be, like when we were little, that way I know father wouldn't be mad-"

Realization hits me like a freight train.

 _You're kidding me._

"Is that what this is about." I cut her off quietly, promptly.

I watch as her mouth ceases movement and she looks over at me, anguish plastered onto her face as she traces the thin line of skin marred down my face with her eyes.

She turns away hastily, her face showing pure affliction.

 _So, this is where the root of the problem lies._

There has always been a thought buried in the back of my mind that wondered how Winter felt about my scar.

Guilt? Grief? Anger?

I know those are all emotions that I felt when the incident first happened. Despite those long-forgotten feelings, now every time I look in the mirror all I'm reminded of is the ruined opportunity of my sister to be a part of my life.

However, I think I have also been subverting what Winter's feelings about it must be.

"Winter it wasn't your fault." I say carefully, treating my words as though they were walking across broken glass. "I was the one not wearing a helmet, you couldn't have done any-"

"But I _could_ have Weiss." Winter speaks, her voice noticeably cracking, which is something rare from the older Schnee. " _I'm_ the older sister. I should have never agreed to fence with you under such perilous circumstances. You were only a _child_ , Weiss. You didn't know any better - but I should have. _I should have_ -"

I make a noise of protest and stand up on the stairs, facing my sister and trying harder than I would like to admit to hold back tears.

"Maybe you should have – but I don't care!" I state almost frantically, getting angrier when Winter turns to me in shock.

"I don't care about this mark on my face! I don't care about how father sees it! If you knew you were at fault why did you-!" I feel myself choking up and take a moment to swallow my emotions. "…Why did you leave?"

Winter tries to hide her face by holding her head in her hands briefly, attempting to not let her grief overtake her. "I didn't have a choice, Weiss. Father was furious at me, he told me I damaged you and that I would never get to see you again. I had no _choice_ but to find a way out of the house and the family business."

"But you could've told me." I say with acerbity.

"I-I could have." Winter says quietly, looking down at the steps. "I was just so _ashamed_... How do you face your little sister after you soil her image for the entirety of her life?"

I feel my face go harden as I walk over and sit beside Winter once again, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

"This wasn't your fault, Winter. It was just a dumb, easily-preventable mistake that could happen to anybody. We're both to blame, but I wouldn't trade it for never having sparred with you in the first place."

Winter solemnly nods and finally lifts her head to look at me.

"And don't you dare think for a second that you've soiled my image with this scar. I might have hated it at first but it's a part of me now and I accept that, even if it is a reminder of what I've missed over the years. I can't imagine never having fenced with you when we were younger, and I would never give up this scar is it means I can keep those memories."

Releasing her from my grip and letting my breathing go back to normal, we watch the koi pond in silence for a few minutes.

Feeling the cold of the night starting to catch up to me, I shiver, and after a moment Winter unbuttons her coat and drapes it across my shoulders.

"I thought about you every day in the military, Weiss."

I raise an eyebrow at her and smile. "Yeah?"

"Everyday." She trails off, eventually looking back over at me. "I'm sorry for misunderstanding things and ruining our relationship entirely."

"It's alright, Winter." I assure her for what is probably the fifth time tonight. "Someone once told me that when we realize an imperfect understanding is part of the human condition, there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes, so how about we start making amends instead of trying to make things the way they used to be?"

Winter breaths some warm air into her hands to heat them up, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye as she does so.

"I would like that."

* * *

"Sooo, even though everything turned out okay, I'm guessing that didn't count as behaving?"

After my talk with Winter, I went back inside to see Ruby off.

Even as she grabs her bike and wheels it to the road, she chooses to be difficult as always.

Not that her being difficult is necessarily a bad thing, since it can sometimes lead to much needed situations, like the chat I just had with my sister, other times, however, her persistence is enough to almost make me go insane.

Nevertheless, tonight I'm feeling moderately generous. Although, if I'm being honest with myself, I miss Ruby's affection.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood right now, otherwise I would have sent you off without as much as a hug."

"Oh, so I've earned a hug?" Ruby says mischievously, propping her bike up on the side of my fence and making her way back to me.

She meets me at the end of my driveway, under one of few street lamps that are illuminating the path down the road.

Leaning in, she gives me an all too brief kiss to the forehead and snakes her arms around my back. I wrap my arms around her as well and smell the familiar scent of roses, like I'm being wrapped in a blanket of flowers and doused in clean, summer air, regardless of the falling temperature.

Neither of us say a word, enjoying the moment. She nuzzles her head into the side of mine and I chuckle, reaching up to run one of my hands through her messy hair.

I breath in her scent and feel her warmth envelope me for a moment more before pulling away.

"You're so perfect." Ruby says, grabbing my wrists and thumbing over my snowflake bracelet once again.

"Flattery _has_ always been a strong suit of yours. I suppose a reward _might_ be in order."

Ruby giggles and looks at me through the hair falling in her eyes. "Wow, and it isn't even my birthday."

I roll my eyes before pulling her wrists towards me. "Shut up."

As our lips touch I feel a familiar bliss, cornered by confliction, consume my being.

The trouble was that I didn't want to kiss her goodbye, I want to kiss her goodnight, and there's a lot of a difference.

* * *

 **-After dinner - Weiss's house-**

"So, was Ruby the one who violated your neck like that."

I blink in surprise, almost dropping the plates I was cleaning up, before feeling my face turn flush red with heat and reaching a hand up to cover my neck, as though it would help.

"Wha-! I- I beg your pardon?" I stutter.

"You know..." Winter says, placing silverware back in the correct drawer. "You're not the only one to try and pull the old flat iron trick, but I must say you did a fairly decent job at attempting to hide it."

Feeling my eyes widen, I cross my arms and glance to the side dismissively. "I- I don't know what you're talking about!" I persist, knowing I've already been compromised.

"Please, Weiss, it's like I've told you before, I can read you like an open book."

"W-Wait a minute- I- You-!?"

"-Know you are in a scandalous relationship with the vice president of your school?"

I feel my already steaming face flush darker with embarrassment. "We- We're not in some scandalous relationship-!"

"Oh, really?" Winter jests, almost like she finds humiliating me amusing. "Then to what status do you hold her?"

I feel my mouth open and close, attempting to grasp at any explanation I could find, but ultimately coming up empty.

After a moment I feel my mouth shut and Winter looks at me with raised eyebrows.

"I'm pretty sure you already know..."

"Yes - but I'll still get a kick out of hearing you say it."

"Winter!" I complain, frustratedly stomping the ground with one of my heels, making a muffled thumping noise on the tile. "Now you're just making fun of me! How do you even know that we're-! Ah- you know..."

For the first time tonight, my sister's face turns soft. "Oh, Sweetie. With the way you look at each other it's obvious enough."

Something about her words soothe me, knowing that just as much as Ruby and I understand what a look from the other means, other people might understand too.

"Really...?" I say quietly, a ghost of a smile appearing on my face.

Winter nods. "Yes, but if you _are_ engaging in scandalous behavior, I recommend some form of protection-"

" _Winter-!_ "


	22. Heart on Your Sleeve

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 22: Heart on Your Sleeve**

I feel a longwinded chill run through the air, crisp enough to make me shiver through my uniform jacket.

Bringing my hands up to my mouth, I blow hot breath into them and close my eyes, savoring the warm air bringing back what little sense of feeling I have in my fingertips.

It has only gotten colder over the past few weeks and the music festival is fast approaching. Since it's the middle of the week right now, we only have until Friday to get everything done.

The council has been on overdrive these past few days especially. There are so many things to be done, from putting up all the decorations in the courtyard, to affixing the make-shift stage with all the proper audio and lighting equipment, and to setting up the seating and food stalls.

However, this being one of the biggest school events before winter break, not only is the council responsible, but a good handful of other clubs around the school as well. Everyone from yearbook, to all the band classes, to chorus, and the multiple art clubs are working together to make sure everything is prepared and done on time.

Presently, I'm taking a rest on one of the fold-out chairs that Nora, Ren, and I have been setting up in front of the stage for the past hour, watching all the other students work on various tasks.

Some of the band kids are joking and shoving each other around, while bringing their instruments from a loaded van behind the makeshift stage that's been constructed in the center of the courtyard. Jaune and Pyrrha are with them, helping unload the vehicle.

I spot some other students helping set up some of the food and drink stalls. It will definitely help to have some warm drinks being served during the event, the dropping temperature becoming increasingly more noticeable lately.

Shifting my gaze towards the other end of the courtyard, I spot Weiss talking to a group of students. She's holding her clipboard and making large hand gestures towards the stage, as though she's explaining to them her vision of how she wants it to look. I know better than anyone how she envisions this festival going, seeing how she's explained it to me about ninety times the past few days.

She's been stressing hard about everything, which has had me worried, but she's been extremely adamant that everything is being handled fine and that she just can't help but be a little anxious. I've been helping out the best I can, however, the things is, setting up chairs and doing busy work is about the most I can do. That being said, I'm more than fine with just supporting her in any way I can, in any way I can help make her work load lighter and remove some of that stress.

One of the students she's talking to raises their hand to ask a question and she nods along before beginning to explain something. Weiss's wearing her normal uniform jacket, buttoned all the way up, with some gloves and a cute blue beanie with a small puff on the end.

How she's able to be so breathtakingly gorgeous all the time will never cease to amaze me. I feel a soft smile form on my face as I watch her.

"Whatcha looking at?"

I jump at the voice positioned directly beside my ear, and frantically turn around to see an amused Nora leaning over my chair.

"Wha-? Nora? When did you get there?"

"Oh, just a few seconds ago," Nora claims, waving me off and plopping down in a foldout chair next to mine. "You were looking at Weiss, weren't you?"

"Nora, leave her alone." Ren chimes in, walking over and setting down another stack of chairs next to us. "We should be working."

Nora waves him off too and pats on a chair next to her. "C'mon, let's take a break already, we've been at this since fourth period. School's going to end soon."

After another few jabs back and forth between the two, Ren eventually sighs and gives in, knowing Nora won't be backing down any time soon.

"I suppose a few minutes won't hurt."

"Atta boy!" Nora exclaims, giving Ren a slap on the back as he takes a seat. "I can't wait for the festival, can you guys? I heard the band composed a brand new song just for the opening show. Oh, and supposedly their gonna be selling T-shirts at one of the stalls."

Ren rolls his eyes. "Yes, and we have to wear those T-shirts. We're part of the staff, remember?"

Nora holds a finger to her chin and crosses her legs. "Oh, yeah. Kinda forgot about that part… It's still going to be fun though! Did you see them setting up the face painting booth?"

"I did earlier." I chime in, finding it hard to contribute to the conversation, since the other two members of the council are so used to bouncing ideas off each other. "Looked cool." I add.

"Right?" Nora says, enthusiastically.

The two begin chatting amongst themselves again, and I lean back in my chair to take another cold breath or air.

I hear a muffled clanging sound and look over to the culprit of the noise.

Near the drop off area of the courtyard, some burly looking students were lifting fairly large boxes off a truck, one appearing to have dropped his. The driver of the truck walks around and seems to be yelling at the kid for a few moments, right before the student waves him off and picks up the box again, rolling his eyes.

The student's eyes catch mine and as he turns around, I immediately identify him to be Cardin. He sneers at me and rolls his shoulder back.

I frown and feel a poke at my shoulder, turning to see Nora looking at me expectantly.

"So, why were you watching Weiss earlier, Ruby?"

"H-Huh?" I stutter, caught off guard. "Oh, no reason, really… She just looks so professional is all."

Not a lie – but certainly not the whole truth. I can't exactly say: _Well, Nora, she looks extremely attractive to me right now and I love watching my girlfriend boss people around._

"She does have a certain grace about her." Ren agrees.

"Daww, isn't our cute and angry snowflake of a president just the best?" Nora says, holding her hands to her cheeks and resting her elbows on her knees.

I chuckle and rub my hands together to create some warmth.

"Angry?" I question with a grin. "More like… short-tempered."

"Oh, that's a good one!" Nora agrees, nodding. "You got anything, Ren?"

"A surly… mentch?"

I scratch my head and scrunch my nose up in confusion. "A who?"

"You know those contradict each other, right?" Nora states more as a fact than a question. "Regardless, we love our council dictator all the same."

I giggle and Ren rolls his eyes as Nora elbows him in the side.

It's odd hanging out with some of the other members. Sure, I see them all the time and say hey to them when we pass in the halls or enter a meeting, but we never really converse much otherwise.

The council reminds me of something like clockwork. All the bits and pieces work together to create a working machine, and with some parts interacting more than others. Even though we still have a semester left in the school year, I find myself wishing I had made friends with the people in the council sooner.

"Thanks for letting me help set up." I say, thoughtfully. "I would've been stuck on stage duty otherwise and I'm glad I get to hang out with you guys for once. We never really see each other all that much."

Nora nods confidently and puts a finger to her chin. "You know what? You're right, Rubes, we should totally throw another party next semester."

"Hard pass." Ren states, crossing his legs.

"Rubes?" I question, noting the new nickname with a smile. Usually Yang is the only one that refers to me with a nickname, and of course Weiss refuses to.

"Trying it out." Nora says nodding knowingly and tilting her head towards me with an enthusiastic look in her eye. "Yep! I like it. Up top, Rubes!"

Nora jumps up and places her hand in front of me to high-five. I find myself laughing and standing from my chair as well, giving an overdramatic display of reaching my arm back and clapping Nora's hand with my own. I can feel the good-natured annoyance from Ren behind us.

Looking over Nora's shoulder, I catch sight of Jaune and Pyrrha carrying a drum kit onto the stage. Well, _carry_ might not be the best term, it's more like Pyrrha is pushing it up the steps one at a time as Jaune helps pull it from the front.

"Agh, dammit. Who invented ten-piece drum kits in the first place?" I faintly hear Jaune complain over the crowd of people milling about.

Switching my gaze back to Ren and Nora, we all exchange knowing faces that say: _Who's going over there to help the poor boy?_

I find myself brushing my hands off on my uniform pants and giving a quick wave to the pair I had been previously helping, proceeding to jog over to the other council members.

When I reach them, I round over to the back of the large drum and help Jaune pull it up the stairs, while Pyrrha does most of the work by pushing and lifting it.

"Thanks for the help, Ruby." Jaune says tiredly when we set the kit down on the edge of the stage, all of us breathing heavily with weariness.

I wave him off. "Don't mention it."

"Hey, Ruby!" I hear someone call from not too far off.

The three of us walk to the edge of the stage and spot Yang, Blake and a few other seniors attempting to put the music festival banner up at the entrance of the courtyard. "Could use some more help!" She yells as they get the first pole of the banner halfway off the ground.

"On it!" I call back, finding myself, along with the other two members, jogging down the steps of the stage and towards my sister, still breathing heavy from lifting the drum kit.

"Well, someone sure is popular." Pyrrha jokes from behind me.

"Pshh, you guys only ever use me for my availability." I cheerfully wave her off.

"Sure, that and the fact that you're technically second in charge of the music festival." Jaune says.

As we reach my sister and the other students that are helping pull the banner up, I notice Penny off to the side of the operation, camera glued to her face as she snaps as many pictures as she can manage. I wave to her as we reach them but she's too immersed in her photography to notice.

"Pyrrha, can you help us with this pole? Ruby and Jaune, you guys can get the other side."

"Aye, aye." I say with a mock salute as we all move to get a good grip on the poles that are soon to be going in the ground.

It takes us a good few minutes, but with the help of about five other seniors that Yang calls over, we're eventually able to set the banner up and in place with a satisfying _clunk_.

"Hell yeah!" Yang exclaims, pumping her fist and then holding it towards Blake with an expectant expression. "C'mon, pound it!"

Blake rolls her eyes and weakly holds out her fist as my sister proceeds to bump their knuckles together and make a fake explosion sound as it blows up.

"You too, Sis!" She says, holding her fist out to me as well.

"How about all of us?" Pyrrha suggests, placing her fist on top of mine, Jaune following in suit.

The students around us quickly join in on our fist pile, even the ones that aren't apart of the council, and soon we have a group huddled around each other, laughing like mad.

"Aren't we supposed to say something, like, inspiring?" One kid questions.

"It's more like a declaration." Blake inputs, quietly.

"Yeah! Something like, _happy new year!_ Or, like, _go team!_ " Yang suggests.

"Oh, I like that!" I agree, nodding eagerly.

"It's not new year's." A student points out. "And we're not playing basketball."

Jaune scrunches his face, thinking, and scratches the back of his head. "Happy Music Fest?"

"That sounds kinda dumb." Another student deadpans.

There are some snickers, but some people shrug and look towards one another as we're squished up in our little circle, fists still held together in the middle.

A smile ghosts my face as I look between some of the students. "Okay, then. Happy Music Fest on three. One – two – three!"

We all throw our fists up and yell our chant, earning some laughs and some annoyed looks from the other students milling about, but we hardly take notice, too wrapped up in our clapping and joking to care.

"Oh, that was just wonderful! I'm going to have to clear my SD card before the real thing on Friday, just you wait." Penny exclaims, walking up to me from where she must have been standing back taking photos.

"Hey, Penny." I say, heartily, giving her a wave and a short hug.

"Someone's in a good mood. What's got you all smiley?" She asks.

"I could say the same for you, you know?"

Penny giddily turns her camera around to face me and shows me a reel of all the pictures she's been able to take today. "How could I not be excited when I finally get to work at another event for yearbook? Look how much opportunity there is here!"

I laugh as she scrolls through more of her pictures, many of which from the display we just gave to the rest of the students and teachers who are setting up for the festival.

"I suppose so." I agree.

"By the way, have you seen Weiss lately, Ruby? I haven't been able to get any good shots of her."

I shake my head and point towards where I had last seen her when I was helping Ren and Nora. "Last I saw she was helping some students by the pavilions."

Penny tsks and shakes her head. "That's too bad. If you see her tell her I would love to take some candid shots with her."

"Will do." I give her a thumbs up.

Penny looks up at me from her camera, squints her eyes at me like she's looking for something. I blink in confusion as to what she's looking at, which is when she gives me a small, genuine smile.

"You seem different." She says, plainly.

"Oh? Uh, different how…?"

"A good different – A happy different. I'm glad you got involved with the council. Do you know how hard it was to see my bff sleeping in class and missing assignments every day? The council really whipped you into shape."

I let out a chuckle that feels more like a breath of air. "Yeah, you could say that."

"Although, I am assuming that's not the only thing that has you whipped."

"Shut up!" I exclaim jokingly, punching her lightly in the shoulder. "But really, I'm glad you seem happy too, Penny. I rarely get to see you anymore with your nose stuck behind that camera."

"Oh, I am happy!" Penny says, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "After the festival, I get to start making my profile for my photography and my bestie is happy of course, which makes me happy!"

"Hey, nerds!" I hear Yang call from behind us. "Quit chit-chatting and get that camera over here to get some pictures of the finished entrance!"

I shake my head and Penny takes a breath. "Duty calls." She says, booping her finger on my nose. "We will chat later, Ruby."

"Sounds good." I say, waving her goodbye as she jogs over to a group of students by the entrance.

I'm left standing to the side of this whole operation, feeling another long, chilly wind run through the air. I grab my arms and rub my hands up and down them for warmth, feeling my teeth chatter as a particularly strong gust hits my face.

Looking up to the sky, I wouldn't be surprised if it started snowing soon but hopefully it'll hold out until the festival is over.

I wonder around for a bit, helping whenever I can, eventually finding myself walking through some of the make-shift food and drink stalls.

I look over at a table with what appears to have many plastic cups and a few of those portable stove tops. Under the table I see a familiar speck of long brown hair and I adjust my path towards my new target.

"Hey, Velvet." I say, walking up and squatting down next to where she's bent over a box, full of what looks like some hot chocolate mix.

Velvet makes a surprised noise upon my sudden presence and looks up from the box. "Oh, hey, Ruby. How are things?"

"Things are good. Whatcha you up to?"

"Oh, nothing." Velvet says, clearly bored with the task she's been given. "Have to count the cocoa packets to make sure there's enough for Friday. Can't have hundreds of freezing high schoolers without some warm sugary beverages, aye?"

I chuckle and nod my head. "That's a good point. I've just been helping around."

"I've noticed. You're quite on top of things, I'm impressed."

I shrug and help separate some of the packets Velvet has already counted. "Yeah, well, you know what they say."

"What's that?" She questions tilting her head to the side, reminding me of a look a bunny would pull.

"When the pres asks you to do something, you do it."

That earns a giggle and knowing look from the former council member.

"That makes sense. I mean, you guys are the infamous married couple of the school."

I almost choke on my saliva and it comes out as more of a gag. I attempt to cover it up with a cough, however, if Velvet noticed my actions she didn't say anything.

"T-The what?" I stutter. "People call us that?"

Velvet just shrugs and continues counting the packets of cocoa. I suddenly feel my heart like it's racing a thousand miles a minute.

"Relax, Ruby. It's just some dumb gossip people say."

"But why would they think that?" I push. Velvet only looks at me with a confused expression and I attempt to backpedal. "I-I mean why would people being saying something like that."

Velvet hands me some more packets to set to the side and I watch as she reaches under the table to sift through a new box.

"Well, that's how you guys act, honestly, and since you two are always together as president and vice president-" She must have seen the conflicted expression I was making because she waves her hand at me and smiles. "Don't worry, really. It's just some chatter around the halls, nothing serious. I'm sorry, I didn't think it would upset you so much."

"Oh, no I'm not upset or anything, just - uh - just thinking is all."

Much to my appreciation, Velvet doesn't press any further. Instead, she takes out one of the cocoa packets and a coffee one from under the table and hands them to me.

"Aren't these for the festival?" I ask, hesitant to take them.

"Oh, lighten up. We're going to have plenty, I think you and Weiss could use something to help you warm up and relax before the festival. You two have been working yourselves to death."

I look at her outstretched hand and slowly take the packets to stuff in my jacket pocket. "Thanks, Velvet. I appreciate it, really."

"Of course. The coffee is for Wei- oh, speak of the devil."

I turn around and spot Weiss looking down at her clipboard and then lifting her head and glancing around, like she's looking for something. After a moment her gaze trains in on me and she uses her arm to wave me over.

"Uh-oh. Hope I'm not in trouble."

"As if." Velvet states, like it's completely obvious. "Go on now, and make sure to take a break before the festival, I mean it. We can't run this thing with two sleep-deprived and overworked zombies."

"Noted." I wave goodbye as I begin walking away. "Later, Velvet."

As I approach Weiss, I shove my hands into my pockets, my fingers feeling numb from the cold.

She flips through her clipboard and presses her pen to her lips in thought, her beanie covering where her gaze is.

"Heya." I say, slipping my still cold hands out of my pocket and deciding to surprise attack Weiss by placing them on either side of her face, which in turn makes her yelp and look up at me. "Looking a little chilly there, Snowflake." I say, thinking about how soft her cheeks are.

I laugh as Weiss takes her clipboard and bops me on the head with it. "Your hands are freezing, you dunce!"

"Sorry! Sorry! Truce, please!" I chuckle, swatting the clipboard away, ignoring Weiss's irritated huffs. "What am I needed for, Captain?"

Weiss groans and makes some marks on her clipboard. "I wish you would take this more seriously. We have a lot to get done, you know."

"Hey, I'm taking this plenty seriously! I've been working all day."

Weiss rolls her eyes and continues making marks. "Yes, like when I saw you sitting with Ren and Nora earlier when you were supposed to be-"

"We sat down for, like, five minutes!"

Weiss shakes her head and places her pointer finger and thumb on her forehead, as though she has a headache. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I don't want to fight with you right now. I know you've been helping, I'm just kind of stressed."

She takes a deep breath in and out I feel my heart beat quicken when she looks at me, her porcelain colored skin shining in the daylight and the color of the sky reflecting in her eyes.

"It's okay, Weiss. I get you're under a lot of pressure and I want to help in any way I can. You can count on me!" I say, wanting desperately to hug her but managing to hold myself back.

"Right. Well, I called you over to make sure we're still going to your house after preparations today to work on some of the playlists and for counting the tickets."

"Oh, yeah. That should be fine." I confirm, reaching into my pocket and holding out the different drink packets I was just given. "Looky what Velvet gave me. This'll definitely get your energy up, then we can stay up all night working on those tickets."

"Oh, great. You bouncing off the walls in a chocolate induced sugar rampage. Just what I need." Weiss deadpans.

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Weiss gives me some side-eye that I pretend to not have seen. "Oh, and Penny told me to ask you to do some candid photos for her when you have the time."

Weiss sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "I will try my best, but right now I have everything but time."

I give her a knowing look and reach over to brush some bangs out of her eyes, momentarily forgetting about the students and teachers.

Letting my hand quickly fall, I pull at my collar, expecting to be told off. Instead, however, I watch a soft smile grow on Weiss's face and we share a look as though we're the only two people in the world. It feels like the world is a better place when she smiles and not just one of those pity smiles – but one of those watermelon smiles where you grin from ear to ear.

It's like I can see my future in her smile, in this moment meant just for us. No one else - just us - it feels like that's all I'll ever need.

"Ruby, there's something I've been meaning to tell you, actually-" Weiss begins, but is cut short by someone calling my name.

"Ms. Rose, do you have a moment?"

I begrudgingly turn my gaze from Weiss and towards the familiar voice of Mr. Ozpin, who is waving me over to one of the front tables.

"I gotta go deal with this." I huff, a cold puff of air escaping my mouth. "Text me when you're ready to go and we'll see each other later?" I say, turning to go.

Weiss briefly looks as though she wants to say something more but quickly nods and gives me a satisfied look. "Of course. I'll be helping with the band kids if you need me."

Walking up to one of the front tables, I shake hands with Mr. Ozpin in greeting and ask him what the problem is.

"Well, you see, the tickets just came in and I was wondering where-"

"Wait, these are the tickets?" I question, looking at one of the various boxes and grabbing a roll out of some wrapping. "Where are their stamps?"

"Pardon?" My home room teacher asks, looking at me confusedly, and pushing his glasses up on his nose to get a better look.

"The company we ordered them from was supposed to stamp the corners with their logo, so people can't bring in fake tickets." I say, digging through the box to check the rest of them. "Weiss said they were supposed to do that."

A few other students and teachers around the table area murmur to each other and shrug. I gulp and look through the other two ticket boxes, which, no surprise, were also not stamped.

I see a few eyes looking at me expectantly, expecting me to have a plan or something. I know I need to think quick on my feet.

 _What would Weiss do? What would Weiss do?_

After pausing for a few seconds I slowly shake my head at myself.

 _What a dumb question. Of course, Weiss would scowl and do whatever she needed to do to get it done._

"Give me a moment." I say, walking away from the table and getting on my phone to look up the company's number.

A bored sounding employee picks up the phone as soon as I call and after much explaining and complaining, apologizes and tells me they can give us the stamps, but they can't put them on the tickets themselves.

After a few irritated comments towards the man, I hang up and walk back over towards a few mildly concerned students and teachers.

"I can pick up the stamps, but we're going to have to actually stamp the tickets ourselves."

"That's going to require quite a lot of people, won't it? Will you have time?" Ozpin questions.

I firmly nod, knowing we could get it done tonight. "There's only three boxes with a few ticket rolls in each. Weiss and I can probably do one tonight. Yang and Blake could do a box along with some of the other members. We should be fine."

Ozpin twirls his hand around on his cane. "Crisis averted?" He asks, carefully.

I nod and a few of the staff and students clap, some sigh with relief, but most just go back to what they were originally working on.

"I must say, Ms. Rose, I'm impressed. What ever did happen to the careless student I always caught skipping out on my lectures?"

I shrug, picking up the rolls of tickets I had taken out and placing them back in their respective boxes. "I only did what I was supposed to."

"You're acting like a leader." Ozpin tells me, staring across the courtyard. "I'm sure you've leaned many things from your time in the council, hmm?"

I close the last ticket box and stare perplexedly out where my teacher is looking.

"You know, everyone keeps telling me how much I've changed, but I don't feel like I've changed at all." I say, bothered. "I just- I just don't see it that way. It feels like I've always been this way, I just haven't been like… agh, what's the word? Like, the way I act now is just a better version of what I was before – but I haven't _changed_ …. Does that make sense?" I ask, looking up at my teacher.

Ozpin uses his pointer finger to push his glasses up and rests his hand back down on his cane when he's done. "I can't tell you that but what I can say is when looking back doesn't interest you anymore, that means you're doing something right, Ms. Rose."

I breath cold air in through my nose and blow it out slowly, watching the faint cloudiness dissipate as it rises.

"It does feel like I'm doing something right. Working in the council has definitely helped me."

"I always thought you and Ms. Schnee would work well together."

I give a snort and scratch the back of my head, remembering how we were when we first met, how we argued and made horrid assumptions of one another. "Geez, what on earth made you think that?"

Ozpin leans on his cane and looks up as though he's thinking. "Maybe it's the matter of you being an optimist and the latter being a pessimist. When you stop thinking about what is wrong, and start being excited about what could go right, everything seemingly comes together more clearly."

"So, it was for Weiss's sake that you made me join the council?" I question.

Ozpin finally looks at me again, a smile rising in his features. "I wonder…"

* * *

There's something comforting about walking the same path you've been down a hundred times, something that makes everything just feel right.

Wheeling my bike along the cracked sidewalk, Weiss walking beside me and droning on about frivolous matters and pointless topics, the rustling of our backpacks against our jackets and the cold breeze whisking across my face and sinking into my skin - sometimes I just want to stop and take it all in. I want to let these thoughts compile in my mind until I know nothing but bliss and contentment.

We stopped on our way back to pick up the ticket stamps from a not-so-happy warehouse owner, who begrudgingly agreed to give us half a refund on our order, only after Weiss threatened that her family could have them sued, however. It was kind of hot to be honest.

Anyways, Yang took one box of tickets and is going to be spending the night at Blake's to get their share done, Weiss and I took a box, and the rest of the members split the remainders amongst themselves.

As I'm walking, listening to Weiss talk about preparations for the hundredth time, I feel a small droplet on my nose and move my hand to wipe it off. Looking up at the sky, I spot many small white specks beginning to fall.

Weiss's rant is quickly cut off as she notices. "Oh, great. Now we have to worry about snow too. It's hard enough keeping the courtyard clean as it is, now we have to get someone to-"

"Weiss." I say, holding out my hands and catching a few of the fairly small white specks in my palms. "Look."

Weiss looks at me and then to my hands with a raised eyebrow. It takes her a moment before she realizes I'm not telling her to look at anything in particular.

 _Look around you._

I claim through my eyes.

 _Look at how happy I am._

I say with my smile.

 _Look at what's happening right now._

I convey through the flurry of white that moves around us.

 _Don't focus on the negatives, look at me._

I assert, using my presence as an instigator.

 _Look at what we have._

I watch as her eyes go from my hands, up to my face, and from me to all the small specks beginning to float around us.

It's like we're in a snow globe, our own little world, our own little bubble. We're caught up in a swirl of emotions that come naturally and twine together like liquorish, something sweet and savory.

We share another smile and I begin wheeling my bike beside her once again. If she wasn't carrying the ticket box I would have grabbed her hand and stuffed our intertwined fingers into my pocket to protect them from the cold.

But for now, watching her look up at the sky with that wistful and awe-struck gaze, I can't help but feel more gratified.

* * *

When we reach my house, I set my bike in the garage and quickly fiddle with my keys to get the door open.

"It really is freezing out. We better hope there's not ice on the ground by Friday." Weiss says, following me through the garage door, setting the ticket box down and beginning to untie her shoes.

"I'll say. Let me get the heat going."

After kicking off my sneakers, I walk over to the thermostat and crank the heat up higher. Looking back at Weiss, I notice her struggling to get her jacket off.

"Here, let me help you." I say, quickly twisting the knob the rest of the way up on the thermostat.

Getting a running start, I stomp across the hardwood floors, before sliding on my socks the rest of the way back to her.

"I swear, you act like you're five years old." She says as I help her slip out of her jacket and hang it on the coat rack by the entryway. She takes off her beanie as well and hangs it on the same hook as her jacket.

"Oh, you love it." I wave her off, trying to ignore the slight messiness of her hair and how cute I find it to be.

She helps me out of my jacket as well and hangs it next to hers. "I just don't understand how it's possible for you to be the most important person in my life, yet also be the bane of my existence." She sighs, putting her hands on her hips.

"Aww, so honest. Weissy thinks I'm important?" I chortle.

An incriminating finger is pointed my direction "I retain the right to take that statement back at any second, I'll have you know."

I hold my hands up in mock surrender, making Weiss roll her eyes.

A muffled thumping noise catches our attention and we both turn to the stairs to see an excitable corgi bounding his way towards us, nails scratching on the wood creating a _clickety-clackity_ sound.

Weiss squeals and brushes past me to meet Zwei halfway through the hallway. " _Aww_ , sweet boy! I missed you so, so much!" She drawls in a high-pitched voice as the furry bundle of energy reaches her and eagerly starts licking her face, wagging his tail and jumping up and down with excitement. "Who's a good boy? You are! Yes, you are~"

"Geez, Weiss. I'm starting to think you only like me for my dog."

"Not the only reason, but it's definitely a bonus." She says, without even a moment of hesitation, not even looking at me and continuing to let Zwei run around her.

I huff and cross my arms, making my way past the disgustingly affectionate scene happening in my hallway and into the kitchen. Mumbling words of annoyance at myself, I take out the coffee and hot cocoa packets to begin preparing it before we get to work on the tickets.

Weiss scoffs and starts scratching Zwei behind his ear as he curls up on the floor in front of her. "Please don't start the whole dog jealousy thing again." She pleads. "It's ridiculous and you two are similar enough as it is."

I look down at Weiss from where I'm pouring the coffee mix, eyes narrowed. "Are you kidding me? I don't act like a dog."

Zwei begins padding his paws in her lap and nuzzling against her forehead, which she giggles about before praising him again and turning to me with an _I told you so_ look in her eye.

"He's a dog. He can't event count!" I insist, holding my hand out in exasperation.

"If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog treats in your pocket and then giving him only two of them."

Zwei barks and tilts his head at me, his cute little Corgi ears flopping over one another.

"Ugh, fine! You win. I act like a freaking dog, now could you help me with the coffee maker, please?"

Weiss smirks at me with a triumphant look, but stands up all the same, brushing all of the dog hair off her uniform and sauntering towards me.

We prepare both the mixes, Weiss fixing the hot cocoa, while I make her coffee. As she is stirring the mix together, I feed Zwei and reach on top of my fridge to the spot where I know Yang hides marshmallows. I plop a few in my drink and ask Weiss if she wants any, which she politely declines, looking out the window at the flurries beginning to fall and sipping from her mug.

"It's really starting to come down out there." She says between sips. "I hope your dad will be safe getting home?"

"Hmm?" I question, bringing my mug up to my mouth and blowing on it to cool it off. "Oh. He told me before I left for school that he's going to be out for work tonight. I hope the roads aren't icy in the morning."

Weiss nods and we begin making the trek up to my room. She takes both the mugs of hot liquid as I grab the ticket box by the front door and carry it up the stairs, Weiss helping guide me on the steps.

I apologies for the mess as I push open the door to my room, noting the few piles of clothes and random clutter scattered about.

"It's bright in here." Weiss gripes when I bump the switch on.

"Oh, sorry." I say, dropping the ticket box down on my bed and reaching over to flip on the lamp on my bedside table. I turn the lamp on my desk on as well as power up my computer monitor, before flipping the light switch back off. "Is that any better?" I question, earnestly.

Weiss nods and moves to set the mugs down on my desk as I start picking up a few articles of clothing off the floor. When I reach my closet to drop the clothing in my hamper, I notice a small fold out table I keep in the back of it, usually only brought out when we have a family game night.

"Oh, I forgot about this." I say, reaching back and dragging the flimsy thing out of the closet. "You could use the extra work space, Weiss."

I plop it down on its top and unfold the legs from under it, before setting it up-right and pushing it against my bed.

Realizing that Weiss hadn't responded to my previous comment, I glance over at her and realize she's staring at a picture on my desk. More specifically, the picture of the council at our celebration party that Penny had given me when I helped her decide what photos to use in the yearbook.

"It's a good picture, isn't it?" I ask, walking up beside her.

She looks surprised and turns towards me, before nodding and picking up the frame to run her finger across the entirety of the council.

"It is… I'm really going to miss this, you know?" She quietly admits.

"Miss what? Staying up late and having to stamp rolls of tickets? Skipping class to work on festivals? Having to approve and read through endless amounts of student suggestions and paperwork?"

She elbows me in the side, making me grunt, and shakes her head. "No- I mean, well, yes. That's part of it, actually. I just- I never thought I would care this much."

"About what?"

" _This."_ Weiss not-so-helpfully clarifies, motioning at the council picture once again. "The members, the hard work we put into events, the nights spent scheduling and rescheduling activities to make everything fit, even the times when you guys were goofing off, _all of it._ " She finishes, complacent.

"It's been a good year hasn't it?" I agree, soundly. "I mean if it wasn't for the council you wouldn't have met me, right?"

A modest smile appears on Weiss's face as she looks over at me. The way her eyes find mine is effortless and the amount of feelings she sends to me without even opening her mouth is endless.

She switches her gaze back down to the photo as she brushes her thumb across the two of us standing in the front. "Right…"

"Anyways, let's get working on those tickets, shall we? They aren't going to stamp themselves!" I exclaim, plopping myself down in my desk chair.

Weiss looks away from the picture and blinks, like she had blacked out for a moment. "Yeah." She acknowledges. "Let's do that."

She sits down on my bed and pulls the fold out table closer to her, before getting the ink and stamps out of the ticket box and beginning to set the items up. It's easy for me to see she's somewhat distracted as she robotically moves to set the equipment out, but I don't push it.

She gives me a stamp and an ink pad, so I can sit at my desk and help out as well.

We begin working for the next hour or so, chattering needlessly and listening to different Spotify playlists on my computer I could find that we both agreed on.

Every now and then, I would look over at her from my desk, my gaze captivated by her delicate movements and swift hands. She seemed to be really on top of things, which makes me happy, however, something about the look in her eye has me worried. She seems distracted.

"Hey, Weiss." I softly say, earning an expectant look my direction. "Is… Is everything, like, okay? You look… conflicted."

Weiss quickly snaps out of her work trance, something about the way she looked deep in thought changed to recognition as she hears me speak, and she looks over at me, guiltily. "Does it appear that way? My apologies… however… yes, actually. There is something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Oh? Well, what is it?" I ask, confused as to why Weiss would refrain from telling me something.

"I-I had intended on telling you earlier, really. It wasn't in my intentions to lie to you or anything- It's just something that I'm not sure how to put into words- or, better put, something I'm not really sure _about_. It's not bad I promise, It-"

"Hey," I cut her off gently, pushing myself away from my desk and wheeling over to sit beside Weiss on my bed. I lean over and use one of my hands to faintly brush some hair out of her eyes, pulling some of it behind her ears and resting my hand on her cheek, cupping it. "Whatever it is, Weiss, you can tell me. I won't judge you, not for a second. You know that."

Weiss seems calmed by my hand and rests hers on top of it, before taking a deep breath. "Well, that goes without saying, of course."

We share a comforting look between us and I can practically feel my heart melting from the way she looks at me.

"I got into Beacon University."

My mouth drops slightly, and my mind reels, attempting to process the information she's told me. "You… what?" I ask, my eyebrows rising.

"I got in." Weiss repeats, more promptly than before. "I passed the entrance exams and they accepted my application just last week. I received a formal letter in the mail and everything, signed by the Headmaster himself. I got _in_ , Ruby _. I got in._ " She whispers the last part to herself in incredulity, as if she has trouble believing her own words.

She looks to me with an expectant expression, a tug upwards eminent on her lips.

I feel myself slowly standing from my seat next to her, my eyes widening the more my mind understands what I'm being told.

"You got in." I say, slowly turning and looking down at Weiss still sitting on my bed.

"I did."

"You got in." I say, my voice rising.

"Uh, Ruby?" Weiss asks, face turning into concern. "Are you Oka-!?"

"You got in!" I can't help but squeal with delight, grabbing her shoulders and jostling her around. "My girlfriend's going to University! I'm so _proud_ of you, Weiss!" I finish, wrapping my arms around her head and squishing her face into my chest in an uneven hug, resulting from her still sitting on my bed as I bounce up and down with joy in front of her.

"Why would you keep something like that from me?"

Weiss wheezes into my chest and attempts to pry me off of her. "Well, I wasn't sure when to-"

"Oh, it doesn't matter." I say, squeezing her tighter against me. "All that matters is that you're the most brilliant person I know and I feel like I could jump over the moon with excitement for you!"

"That's great, Ruby." Weiss wheezes once again. "Really great - but can I have my head back now?"

I look down at the struggling Weiss in my arms. "Oh, sorry." I giggle, letting her slide out of my grip and bring her hands up to fix her pony tail.

Bouncing on the balls of my feet, I clasp my hands behind my back and look down at the girl in front of me with the most earnest and loving expression, thinking about how my smile just might crack open my face if I let it grow any wider.

I hear a click and a small pause, right before another song begins to play on my Spotify, this one I easily recognize.

"Oh! I love this song!" I say excitedly, bounding over to my desk and turning the knob up on my speakers.

After a moment of listening and watching me sing along to the lyrics, Weiss laughs and looks at me in disbelief.

"I didn't know you liked Duke Ellington?" She questions, putting a hand to her chest.

"Oh, yeah. My favorite of his is Take The A Train. My dad used to blare it in the car when he'd drive me and Yang to school." I say, shrugging and walking back over to her with a skip in my step. "I guess when you hear a song every day for weeks on end - it tends to catch on."

Weiss lightly chuckles and views me reaching her as her cue to stand up as well.

"I suppose that makes sense. Doesn't seem like jazz would be your taste, though."

I wrap an arm around her waist and intertwine our fingers with my other hand, swaying lightly back and forth. "Oh? Then what _does_ seem like something my taste?"

Weiss chuckles and reaches up to put an arm on my shoulder. "I don't know. I was thinking something more… fast-paced."

"Who says jazz isn't fast-paced?" I question, mischievously.

Moving back over to my speakers and turning it up once again, my room is filled with the jazzy beat and lyrics of It Don't Mean A Thing.

Once the beat for the song hits, trumpets and saxophones blaring, I move us closer to the middle of my room and release Weiss's waist from my grip to spin her around. Her skirt flows out around her as she twirls once, before giggling and beginning to dance with me again.

Most of our _'dancing'_ consists mostly of us bouncing around and grabbing each other's hands as we move to the music. We both sing along to the familiar tune, Weiss doing the main voice with me repeating the chorus, and it hits me after a minute that I've never really seen Weiss like this before, not only willing to jump around and dance with me - but singing.

During a slower part of the tune, when the instruments take over the beat and the singing comes to an end, I pull Weiss back towards me and grin as I rest my forehead on hers.

"I knew you were able to sing, but I didn't know you could dance."

"I would hardly call that dancing." Weiss says, sighing and using one of her hands to thumb the collar of my shirt. "With the way you were hopping around, it looked as though you could be either dancing, or having a seizure."

I open my mouth and make a noise of disbelief. "Wha-! That's so mean!"

Weiss rolls her eyes and leans towards me to rest her head under my chin. "It's somewhat charming… I'll give you that." She mumbles into my collarbone.

I give a breath of a laugh and pull away to go sit down on my bed, all of my, apparently seizure-like, dancing leaving me considerably breathless. Weiss soon follows me and sits beside me, placing her hands underneath her skirt as she sits down.

I tilt my head towards her and feel a grin brandish my face.

"Weiss," I murmur, my voice hoarser than I expected. "Your voice is gorgeous."

Sitting next to her now, I feel her body heat radiate towards mine as I move my hand to run back and forth along her thigh. We're close enough that when she turns to me to speak, we could bump noses if I turned completely towards her as well.

"You're being dramatic…" Weiss shakes her head, even though there is a small smile etched on her face. "It's really nothing special."

"But it is." I press, tilting my head towards her in a playful motion. " _You're_ something special."

The bed creaks as Weiss shifts off her hands to place them in front of her, one being placed over my hand that's now resting on her knee and running a gentle thumb over it.

I notice the flickering screen of the computer monitor as it cast its fuzzy light across Weiss's features, outlining the side of her face as she watches me as well.

It begins at her forehead, where her hair is messily hanging over it, like a shield. From there, it dips onto her brow and highlights the marred skin running down her eye, making every trace of the mark visible. It then reaches the curvature of her nose and drops down onto her anticipating lips.

After a moment, I feel the hand covering mine give a small squeeze and I turn my gaze back up to the pair of piercing blue eyes that look into mine.

It's not as if a question is being asked – we both know what is happening – it's more of a declaration. An acknowledgment of our feelings for one another.

I raise her hand in mine and bring it up to my lips, closing my eyes and dipping my head to place a kiss on her finger tips.

The look she's giving me tells me that I'm hers and she's mine. It says, _to hell with the council and this dumb festival and these tickets and to everything else important in our lives_.

It says, _to hell with that because you're all I need._

And it's exactly that.

Weiss pulls her hand back towards her and flips it around, so that mine is on top, and she places her soft lips to my fingers as well, looking up at me through her eyelashes. I find myself grabbing her hand and using the shift of my body to push her back on my bed, crashing my mouth onto hers.

My bed creaks loudly and thumps against the foggy window sill, but I barely take notice as I use my grip to pin Weiss's hands beside her head.

She tastes of coffee and something herbal, something sweet. She kisses me back just as forcefully and with just as much vigor, pressing her lips against mine, opening them and closing them with the rhythm of our heads, tilting in an attempt to be closer.

I ask myself how our lips seem to fit perfectly together. It could be asked the same for questions such as, why do birds sing? Why does snow melt and rose pedals unfold?

Well, the answer is simply because those things are _meant_ to happen.

And Weiss and I are simply _meant_ to be together.

Her beauty is luminary, glowing with the energy of combustion and a heated spark. The flame of her allure seems to only shine brighter when I'm near, when I can be with her, like this. She makes me look like rusty old penny in a sea of gold and riches that have been thrown down a well as wishes, waiting to be granted.

A long time ago my wish would have been for her to be mine. Now, however, I would only wish that moments like these never end.

Who knew that a star could catch the attention of someone who shines as bright as the moon.

I slant my head and drag my tongue across her soft lips, like I'm knocking on a grand palace door and awaiting entry. Weiss tugs against my grip and I let her go in favor of cupping her face in my hands beneath me, like I'm holding a baby bird or a precious flower in my palms.

I feel my head start to spin as she wraps an arm around my neck and glides her fingers through my hair with her hand. She runs the same hand from my hair down to my scalp and across my back, making my shiver.

She drives me absolutely crazy. Her taste, her scent, her touch – everything – and as much as I try to ignore the urge, sometimes it becomes so overwhelming I can't help but picture her in a compromising state.

Wanting to run my hands across her body, wanting to see what she looks like when she's caught up in pleasure, it's something that drives a desire deep inside me, something that sparks a match, flips a switch in my behavior and makes me feel something purely instinctual.

I understand love is a spice of many tastes, a dizzying array of textures and emotions. Lust is one of these feelings, and I'm honestly scared of what I'll do once I get a taste.

The more I feel our mouths move together, the more I can't bear to pull away. It's like drinking salt water. The more I drink the more my thirst for her increases.

Time passes like it never existed in the first place. I'm unaware of my surroundings, of the slight rattling of the fogged-up window, the creak of my bed, the hot chocolate left sitting on my desk and the coffee on Weiss's makeshift table.

It's only until I can't help but come up for air that I pull back slightly.

Weiss looks up at me, breathing heavily, our ragged breaths mingling together in the almost nonexistent space between us. She runs a thumb over my cheek as I run mine over hers.

"You taste sweet." Weiss whispers onto my lips.

I pull my mouth over to the side of her head, hovering over her ear. "Not as sweet as you." I reply, before bringing my mouth down to her collarbone and lewdly dragging my tongue across the supple skin along her neck, all the way back up to the tip of her chin.

I hear Weiss let out a muffled groan and shift her legs together underneath me. Knowing fully well what she's doing, a smirk makes its way across my mouth as it finds its way back to hers.

Our lips collide in a heated and frantic manner once again, Weiss opening her lips and allowing me to ravenge the inside of her mouth with my tongue. Each time I briefly bring my tongue back, she takes the opportunity to bite my bottom lip between her teeth and tug, making me practically see stars before I eagerly let our mouths meet again.

I sloppily swipe my tongue throughout her mouth, lazily slitting my eyes open and watching Weiss's flushed face as she shows no restraint towards letting her true feelings show, a rarity for her. This was never a fight for dominance, as she clearly wants to give me control.

 _And what can I say? I'm a people pleaser._

I trace my mouth away from hers, placing a trail of kisses from her lips. Slowly but surely, I make my way to the side of her neck, clumsily but hastily unbuttoning the first few buttons of her uniform as I go.

Pulling the material aside, I'm faced with skin as milky white as a field of cotton or dandelions, soft and welcoming.

The marks I had left in the council room were long gone by now, making me feel an impish smirk run across my features.

I depravedly take the skin between her neck and collar bone and begin sucking on it, listening to Weiss as she lets out muffled moans and twitches. She wraps one hand around my back and uses her other to grab the back of my hair in a death grip, shuffling her legs once again in search of purchase.

Briefly pulling away from her lips, I fumble to get the rest of her shirt buttons undone.

Weiss must have noticed my shaking hands as I struggle with her clothing, causing her to reach out and use her fingers to brush some hair out of my eyes, then moving her hand down to cup the side of my face.

"Ruby… have you ever, uhm, done this before?"

I make an audible gulp and feebly shake my head. "Huh? Uh- y-yeah. I've been nervous before."

Hearing Weiss chuckle, I immediately feel my face redden with embarrassment.

"Dolt… that's not what I meant." She says with an affable smile.

I almost smack myself for being so dumb, but instead of dwelling on it, I sheepishly look away. "Well, then ah, no… you would be the first for me."

Noticing I'm still looking away, Weiss gently uses her hand cupping my cheek to move my head back to face her.

"Ruby, it's okay. It's mine too... We can stop whenever you want, and I'll help guide you if you're having any… trouble."

She offers me a soft smile when I look down at her, making my nerves subside and my feelings for her bubble up to the surface, along with the confidence I get from hearing her reassurance. Thinking about how this is the same Weiss who berates me on the daily for being late to a meeting or having a wrinkled uniform makes me want to see more of this vulnerable side of her.

I move back over Weiss and place my hands on either side of her head.

"Do you want me to do anything, uh… specific?"

"I'll let you know when we get there." She says warmly, tucking some loose hair behind my ear. "For now, I want you to kiss me."

I do as she says, not finding any reason to argue, and feel our lips meet once again, heated, feverish, and undoubtedly sensual.

Using my tongue to outline every corner of her mouth, I notice a trail of saliva connecting us as I briefly move away and tilt my head into hers, kissing her deeper, more passionately.

It hits me that expressions of affections like this, to holding hands, to putting an arm around another's shoulder, or to giving a kiss goodnight, all involve the same principle. The principle of honesty.

 _And with honesty comes uncertainty._

I grab the hem of her uniform shirt in my hand, fingers still slightly shaking as I break our kiss. "Weiss, is it okay if I…?"

She looks up at me with lidded eyes and nods.

"Yes?" I question once more for confirmation, my hand continuing to hover on the hem of her shirt.

"Ye- _ah-_ " Weiss's speech falters as she involuntarily bucks when I bring one of my legs up between her thighs. " _God- yes_. Ple-ease, _Ru-Ruby_." She croaks in broken and breathy words.

I quickly decide that this voice of hers is my favorite.

Although, I could normally find something to joke about with the way she's reacting right now, I'm still far too nervous and overcome with this sense of desire. There's a sense of devotion and infatuation that consumes me, turning me into another person entirely. I want nothing more than to please Weiss and watch her writhe underneath me.

We continue our feverish kissing for a few more moments, hungrily, clumsily, like I can't get enough of the taste of her lips and the feeling of her body against mine.

I finally pull her shirt apart and toss it off my bed, revealing her lacey white and blue bra, covered with a flower pattern that I recognize.

"Amaryllis?" I question knowingly, running a thumb over the pattern. "Cute."

All Weiss can do is nod as I slide a hand around her arched back to grab the clip.

Beginning to unhook her bra with one hand, I use the other to run fingers up her milky white chest, eventually coming up to grope her.

Weiss squirms and bucks once again against my leg, letting out soft moans and muffled sounds of pleasure.

"Don't hold back, Weiss. No one's coming home tonight…" I murmur breathily into her ear.

Finally getting her bra undone and tossing it to the side as well, I run my hands down her bare back, feeling the smooth, pale skin that rarely sees the sun.

And as I slowly move my hands around to her side, to caress her stomach, I feel Weiss shiver. "Ruby, it's cold..."

Bending my head down and glancing up at Weiss's glazed over eyes, eyes dusted in love and want, I place a kiss just below her breasts.

"...Then let me warm you up."

* * *

 **(To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't a very wise decision. You should wear it inside, where it functions best.)**


	23. Music Festival

**I Think I Like You**

 **Chapter 23: Music Festival**

I've decided I love winter.

Not because of the snow on the ground, crunching under my shoes as I'm passing out wristbands to people entering the Music Festival, and not because of the warm drinks, nights spent huddled under some warm blankets playing video games, or having to shovel the driveway just so your sister can trudge her motorcycle through the slippery concrete, while you watch from the front yard.

No, not because of any of those things.

I love winter because of the memories it gives me, the ones that resurface unknowingly, making me grasp at them and hold them down, near and dear to my heart.

I've decided I love winter because of the people that surround me, my friends and family that, for some reason, seem so much closer and so much more important now that my last year of high school is officially halfway over.

Earlier this morning, I was so excited for today. I could barely wait to get out of bed, which is saying a lot, considering I almost miss my alarm every day.

The rest of the school day went by in a blur, most of the council members unable to skip our classes because we've been missing so much these past few weeks. However, as soon as that last bell rang, you bet your ass I was dragging Weiss down the hallway and into the council room to grab the tickets and anything else needed for last minute set up.

She had made multiple protests for me to slow down, but as soon as heard the marching band outside the school hallways, starting to bang those drums and bring in the steady beat of chorusing wind instruments, it was hard for me not to feel giddy with excitement.

We had met up with some of the other council members at the courtyard entrance, who were already handing out tickets and wristbands to a flood of students, parents with younger children, and faculty that were waiting in a line that looked more like a huge swarm of people.

Weiss had immediately grabbed a whistle out of her skirt pocket and blew it, making me cringe and hold my hands over my ears, while she barked orders for people to form multiple lines at the ticket tables and telling them how much of a safety hazard they were being.

After we got the lines sorted, we went back towards the banner at the entrance, where we're currently standing, along with Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, and Jaune handing out wristbands to people who bought their tickets.

Kids race by us in their winter coats and snow boots, the school band's boisterous playing making them giggle and run with excitement. They barely payed any mind to us, making us have to quickly reach over and hand them a wristbands before they run off.

Crowds go by in a flurry of greetings and thank you's. I see many people who I recognize from some of my classes and around campus, all of whom I give a shy wave of acknowledgment to as I hand them their wristbands and tell them to enjoy the festival.

I watch Weiss out of the corner of my eye, standing on the opposite side of the entrance from me. Her blue beanie is keeping the hair out of her eyes and her festival shirt is just barely visible through the thick winter coat she's wearing, one of those coats that goes down to her knees and almost to where her boots begin.

She smiles at a passing older-couple and I see her mouth words to them that I can't make out. I absentmindedly hand off a few more of the brightly colored bands to people as they pass by, all the while attempting to get a glimpse of my girlfriend any chance I get.

After about a half-hour, the crowd coming in dies down to a moderate level, leaving just a few of the council members at the entrance as some of the others leave to enjoy the festival.

I turn and spot two familiar faces at the ticket booths. Feeling a smile of recognition stretch across my face, I wave to get their attention.

My uncle gives me a wave back and taps my dad on the back to get his attention, nodding in my direction. Once they buy their tickets, my dad opens his arms as he approaches me. I find myself laughing and meeting him halfway across the school entrance to hug him back.

"Hey there, Squirt." My uncle says, reaching over and ruffling my hair. "Your old man here invited me to come check out your festival. Looks cool so far but I'll give you my full review later."

"I'm so glad you guys could make it!" I exclaim, giving my dad one last squeeze before letting him go. "I think Yang is somewhere in the courtyard, probably near the stage. If you see her, tell her that we might need more wristbands from the library."

My dad flashes me a thumbs up and a grin. "Will do, kiddo. This place looks great!"

"It is pretty impressive." Uncle Qrow states, whistling and looking over at the stage, where the band is continuing to play, and all the stalls littered about the courtyard on freshly shoveled grass.

"Oh, you have no idea. This took us ages." I huff, reaching into my jacket pocket to hand them each a band, however my hand comes back empty, making me realize I don't have any more on me.

"Oh shoot." I say, looking around and spotting Weiss still standing at the entrance. "Weiss!" I call, waving her over.

She looks surprised by my outburst but walks over with a questioning look, eyes glancing between me and my family.

"Do you have any more wristbands? I ran out."

She only nods and reaches into her pocket to grab two bands.

"Is this your friend- ah, what was it again- Weiss?" My dad questions.

I feel my eyes widen a bit in realization that I had called her over by her name. Nervously pulling at the red scarf around my neck, I nod. "Yeah, this is Weiss." I say, motioning to the girl still sifting through her pockets. "Weiss, this is my dad and my Uncle Qrow."

"Well, hello there!" My dad says reaching out his hand to shake. "You're the council president, right? Ruby has told me lots about you!"

" _Dad._ " I whine in embarrassment.

With her hand that's not sifting through her pocket, Weiss grasps my dad's hand with her own, giving it a quick but firm shake.

"Greetings, Mr… Xiao-Long? Apologies if that's incorrect. It's wonderful to meet you."

My dad waves her off and graciously takes the bands from Weiss, handing one over to Qrow.

"Please, call me Tai. Compared to the trouble this one here must cause," He says, motioning to me. "it's really no bother."

"Hey-!" I begin to protest.

"Oh, I assure you Ruby is quite alright! She's a huge help and I'm grateful to have her in the council. Her sister on the other hand is, well… another story…" Weiss murmurs the last part, grimacing.

My dad laughs a big jovial laugh. "Oh, ain't that the truth!"

Uncle Qrow chuckles and I can see him watching me as Weiss and I exchange a knowing look.

"Hey, Princess," My uncle says, nodding towards Weiss's wrist. "Nice bracelet you got there."

As if on reflex, Weiss grabs the snowflake bracelet dangling around her wrist, just in view because of her somewhat short jacket sleeve. For the first time since walking over here, she looks a little nervous, eyes darting towards mine and then back to her wrist.

"Oh, yes, t-thank you." She stutters.

"Looks… familiar?" Qrow says, perking his eyebrow. "Where'd you get it from?"

"Where I got it from? Hmm… I-I'm not quite sure I remember…"

My Uncle quirks his eyebrow up a little more and gives us a sideways glance. Thankfully, my dad hits him on the shoulder and takes a step around Weiss.

"Alright, Qrow, let's quit bothering the kids and go check out this festival!" He hollers. "You coming or what?"

My dad motions for my uncle to follow him, making Qrow groan and trudge behind him.

Weiss and I both wave them off, Qrow turning around momentarily to give me a wink. I feel my face heat up and I grimace as I turn to Weiss.

"You think he…?" I leave my question unfinished, knowing Weiss understands the implications.

"Let's hope not." She sighs. "My heart could barely handle meeting your family like that so suddenly, let alone having one of them realize we're together."

I roll my eyes and offer her a grin. "Oh, come on. You did great, Weiss. My dad really seemed to like you… which is kinda odd considering the things Yang normally says."

"Oh? And what does Yang normally say about me?" She questions, eyebrows raised.

My mouth forms a thin line before I give a nervous laugh and look away. "O-Only good things, of course!"

" _Of course_." Weiss mimics, snidely, but I can tell she's holding back a smile. "Come on, lets keep handing out these wristbands."

We move back to our positions, only a trickle of late-comers being left at the ticket booths. The band has now moved to wind instruments only and the melodies are a lot softer.

I notice Weiss, who is standing next to me now, looking disappointedly over at the gate every few minutes. After she does this for about a fifth time, I look over her shoulder and notice a few small groups of students and parents entering.

I turn my head to her, questioningly. "Looking for someone?" I ask.

Weiss continues staring at the gate for a few more moments before casting a downtrodden look at the light snow that covers the grass.

"No, I… It's nothing."

I frown at her, not liking the dejected look casted around her face.

" _Weiss!_ " Someone strictly shouts from _very_ near us, making us both jump and swiftly turn around.

Winter stands behind us, hands held behind her back and an eyebrow already raised in questioning. Her hair is up in the same neat bun I've seen her wearing the previous times I've seen her and she's wearing a long, white jacket.

"You came!" Weiss exclaims with disbelief, quickly walking over to the older Schnee and wrapping her arms around her.

Winter looks somewhat taken aback at first, as though she hadn't expected it, however, after a moment, she reciprocates the hug.

I give the older sister a shy wave and she nods at me in acknowledgement, still holding Weiss to her chest.

After a moment, Winter places her hands on Weiss's shoulders and pulls her back, giving her a smile. "Of course I came. I'll admit it was a bit tricky to get out of some meetings, but with how much you've been stressing over this how could I miss it?"

"It means a lot, Winter. Thank you." Weiss says, reaching over to give her sister a wristband.

"No thanks necessary, I'm simply supporting my family is all." She says, humbly. "And I'll admit I might be curious about what old Oz is up to these days. I haven't seen him since my time in the council."

"He should be helping somewhere backstage." I cut in, stepping over to stand beside Weiss. "You're more than welcome to check back there. I'm sure he'd love to see you."

Winter nods her thanks and then looks between me and Weiss.

"I hope everything is going well on your end, Ruby?" She inquires.

"Huh?" I question, looking confusedly between the two Schnee's before realizing she must be talking about my relationship with Weiss. "Oh, yeah totally!" I say, leaning over and wrapping an arm around Weiss's neck, shaking her for emphasis. "Like two peas in a pod!"

Weiss's quickly reddening face cringes and Winter raises an eyebrow at me. "Don't get too cozy there, Ruby. As a Schnee, my sister deserves to be treated with only the highest amounts of respect and dignity. I trust in her judgement of partners of course, but that's not to say I'm not keeping an eye on you."

I let go of Weiss's shoulder, scratching the back of my neck and nervously laughing. "Heh, trust me, you've got nothing to worry about." I quickly affirm. "She's in good hands, I promise!"

Winter's eyebrow only raises further.

"Not like literally or anything-!" I fumble for words. "I meant, like, I'll take care of her! Not that I'm putting my hands on her or anything-!"

"Is that so? Then could you explain to me the reason Weiss didn't come home Wednesday night? She came back _awfully_ early yesterday morning."

I gulp and fidget with the cuffs of my jacket. "Ah- well, you see- there was a, uhm, a thing-" I ramble.

Thankfully, Weiss steps in to save me from my terrible people skills.

"O-kay." She stresses, coughing and stepping closer to Winter. "Why don't you go enjoy the festival. Text me later and we'll get some coffee or something."

Winter smirks, seeming to knowingly accept the change in subject. We then wave her off and I turn to Weiss, letting out a relived breath of air.

"Thanks for-" _Thump_. "-Ow!?"

I put my hand to my freshly thumped forehead in shock.

"Could you be _any_ more obvious?" Weiss fumes at me, hands settling on her hips. "Just because we engaged in…" She trails off, her eyes shifting around and her voice lowering considerably. " _Scandalous_ behavior – does not mean you have to act like an absolute buffoon around my sister."

I rub my forehead and make a whining noise. "I'm sorry, Weiss. I didn't mean to… and you can just say the word sex, you know?"

Weiss actually sputters, her face turning as red as a fire engine, and presumably not because of the cold weather.

I find myself chuckling at her unexpected and flustered response. "You know, before we did that you were acting all calm and in control. Now, you're acting like complete mess honestly." I continue to tease her.

Weiss stomps her boot on the ground and points an angry finger at me. " _Ruby Rose!_ You better close that mouth or so help me-!"

"You weren't saying that the other night-"

" _Shut it!"_

* * *

"And now for the band to play a new piece they have been working very hard on, The Impression That I Get by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones!"

As Weiss announces the next performance, the crowd in front of the stage cheers, and I find myself smiling from behind the curtain, watching as Weiss gracefully walks by the band as they begin playing the loud and rambunctious marching theme.

The rest of the festival has been going great.

We were relieved of our positions by some of the staff at the ticket tables, who were just going to give tickets and the wristbands out to latecomers from the front tables.

I had met up with my dad and uncle for a bit and we had gotten some pizza from one of the food stalls, watching the performances as we ate. The school band and some of the independently hired bands that we got to perform were all pretty good, but my favorite part by far was whenever Weiss came on stage to announce the next performer.

"If you keep staring like that, your mouth is gonna catch flies, kid." My uncle stated when he had caught me staring at Weiss.

I had quickly felt my face flush and insinuated I didn't know what he was talking about, but if he had any clue he didn't let on.

After that, I excused myself, so I could check on a few things around the courtyard and then sit behind stage and see Weiss for a bit, which brings me to where I am now, giving her the biggest thumbs-up as she walks behind the curtain.

"Gah! I'm so proud of you!" I squeal, dragging her off to the side and squishing her in a bear hug.

She decidedly lets it happen and even hugs me back momentarily. "Ruby, please, my lungs are at their limit." She wheezes after about a minute.

I lessen my grip but keep my arms around Weiss's waist. The band begins playing even louder and it becomes hard for me to hear myself think, which makes me pull Weiss off further to the side, where we're pretty much hidden by the curtains and some speaker equipment.

"Everything is going great." I reassure her. "I just checked in with Ozpin and Glynda and they told me the sales were through the roof. So many kids brought their families and invited friends! This is great!"

"Well, of course it is. The council planned this, did we not?" She states rhetorically, her hands fiddling with my scarf.

I grin and dip my head in to kiss her, pressing my lips against hers and reaching my hand up to cup the back of her head. It's a short and sweet kiss, yet she still drives me crazy with the way she instantly folds into it, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side before pulling away.

"You need to learn how to behave yourself, Ruby." Weiss scolds, using a hand to primp her white bangs that flow out of her beanie.

I look away and meekly nod my head, understanding that now isn't the time for this. "I'm sorry. I know."

Ever since that night with Weiss, I haven't been able to keep my mind off of her. Her smile, her voice, her body. No matter what I do, however many times I see her or kiss her, I can't get enough of her.

I remember vivid feelings of her breath in my ear, and images of her soft and pale skin, radiating a warmth that can't be mimicked by any other source in the universe. She's so freaking gorgeous that sometimes just looking at her makes the familiar heat rise in my stomach, especially now that nothing is left up to my imagination.

"Again, just because we did _things_ – it does not make it alright for you to touch me whenever you please."

"Sorry, I know, I know. No touching in public, or without your permission." I sigh, releasing her waist and scuffing my shoe on the lightly-snowed ground.

With her face still flushed, Weiss coughs into her hand. "Yes, well, as long as you're aware..."

Over the instruments playing, I hear Yang call for us and I give Weiss a shrug as we walk back around the curtain and into view.

The music intensifies with the loud drums banging and the trumpets blaring in unison, making Yang motion us towards her with her hand, telling us to step away from the blaring instruments.

"There you guys are. I was looking all over for you." She exclaims, looking between us. "I hope only PG things were happening back here, _hmm?_ "

Weiss crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. "Ugh."

"What is it Yang?" I question.

She winks and beckons us to follow her, so we can see around the stage. "Come check it out. I can see Uncle Qrow and dad in the front row."

We wave at them through a few crowds of families and students passing by and after a few moments, they seem to notice us and wave back.

I notice Weiss scan the audience and watch as her face lights up upon seeing Winter amongst the crowd, chatting with Ozpin. She waves to her sister as well and turns to me with a rare toothy smile, making me completely forget where I am. She's always had one of those smiles that do that.

"Oh, you two are so cute!" Yang coos from behind us, throwing her arms around both of our shoulders and squeezing us together. "Can Blake and I be the bridesmaids at the wedding?"

Both Weiss and I blush furiously at the implications of a wedding. Catching Weiss's eyes, I see them wide with, not only shock, but some sort of wistfulness, like the idea made her happy. And the idea that the idea of us getting married making her happy – well – that's enough to make me thrilled beyond belief.

"Oh, I'm just kidding. You two look like you're about to burst from the blood pressure going to your heads. Blake and I picked up some really good hot chocolate and the council members are sitting at a table on the edge of the crowd watching the show. You should come join us if you're not too busy canoodling."

"We were not canoodling!" Weiss insists, exasperated. "Besides, I need to keep doing announcements-"

"For the whole festival?" My sister scoffs. "Yeah, I don't think so, Pres. I'll get one of the staff members to do it, don't worry your pretty little head and lets just enjoy this."

After some more useless protests from Weiss, Yang leads us through some of the crowd towards the council table, stopping one of the staff and giving them Weiss's clipboard, so they could do announcements in her place.

We make a few brief stops along the way, checking in with my dad and uncle, and Weiss meeting up with Winter and Ozpin. Our conversations were short-lived however, with the hustle of all the festival attendees making it hard to stop and talk to our family for too long. It didn't help with the band playing a loud, rambunctious beat either.

Eventually, Yang leads us to the far side of the crowd and we're greeted by a long table with a white cloth over it, a blue snowflake pattern running across it. The two chairs at the end are empty, along with a chair next to Blake, and all the members sit there chatting and drinking out of porcelain mugs.

Yang walks through a few groups of students standing around talking or watching the performance on stage, taking the seat next to Blake and causing the other members to glance around.

Nora is the first to spot us standing

"There's our stars of the hour! We've been wondering when you'd make it!" She exclaims, giving us an excited wave.

"We sent Yang to go find you." Ren clarifies as we pass by him, making our way to the empty chairs.

"Well, I'm glad we could make it." Weiss says, wiping some of the snow off her chair before smoothing her uniform skirt down and taking a seat.

"Put her there, Rubes!" Nora says as I pass her, turning in her chair and holding out her fist for me to bump.

I giggle and bump my fist against hers, both of us making an obnoxious explosion noise as we pull away.

"You two are ridiculous." Weiss mutters, picking up her hot chocolate and taking a sip.

Some of the other members laugh as Yang reaches over the table to fist bump Nora as well.

The sight of the council puts me more at ease, seeing as since this morning I've been so fidgety and excited for today. It's nice to have some more time to wind down and just appreciate everything we put in place for the festival.

Although, it appears all the members are somewhat giddy with excitement, riding the high off finally seeing our hard work come together, I suppose.

"And how are the rockstars of the hour doing?" Pyrrha says with a warm smile.

Jaune eagerly nods beside her and looks at both of us across the table "Yeah! We haven't seen you two all day!"

"Rockstars?" I question, wiping my fold-out chair off before taking my seat next to Weiss.

My sister gapes at me, exasperated. "Well, yeah, duh. Look around, this has to be the most successful event we've pulled off in council history. If we're not rockstars I don't know what we are."

After taking a long sip from her mug, Blake finally decides to speak up. "Perhaps we're just high school students who have managed to pull off something spectacular."

"I agree." Ren nods, wrapping his hand around his mug. "It feels like we were able to make something really special here. An event to be remembered and used as an example for future members."

Yang looks between the two, wrinkling her brow and pursing her lips. "…Rockstars sounds way cooler though." She mumbles, picking at the table cloth.

Weiss sighs, her breath coming out as a cloud and dissipating into the frigid air. "To answer your previous question, we've been quite busy with tickets and announcements all day, refilling multiple different drink and food stands, not to mention some of the game booths-"

"-What matters is that we're here now though." I cut her off, before she's inevitably able to go on a tangent. "And I'm glad we're all able to enjoy this together."

Words of agreement and content nods are shared all around the table. Some of the members begin chatting and bickering amongst themselves. I blow on my hot chocolate before taking a long sip out of the mug, savoring the warm liquid.

"Now that school's half-way over we've gotta start looking for new members!" Jaune inquires.

"Forget about searching for members." Nora says, leaning back in her chair and stretching. "After this festival is over, I'm spending my winter break curled up in a blanket, watching Netflix and gaining my sanity back."

"Can't lose what you never had." Yang sighs.

"Excuse you!?" Nora huffs, crossing her arms. "I'm plenty sane!"

Ren raises an eyebrow and shakes his head, taking another sip of his warm drink. The rest of the council make skeptical faces and look around distractedly.

"I can't believe you guys aren't going to back me up!" Nora counters. "Well, at least we won't be subjected to your terrible puns during break."

A mutual groan makes its way across the table at the mention of jokes around Yang, who holds a hand up to her chest and gasps. "You don't mean that!?"

"Bet." Nora smirks.

"You guys love my jokes though, right Blake?" She shakes the shoulder of her quiet friend beside her. "Remember the basketball one? Eh?"

"Ah, yeah, sure." She says, swatting Yang away from her.

My sister _tsks_ and catches Weiss's eye across the table. "Hey, Pres, I gotta good one for you."

Weiss looks up from her mug and makes a look between disdain and contempt, her attempts at avoiding being part of this conversation seemingly fruitless.

"Are you ready?"

"No."

"What did the seal say when it swam into the concrete wall?"

Weiss only raises an eyebrow and Yang looks at her expectantly for a few moments.

"You're supposed to ask - _I don't know, what did the seal say?_ "

" _I don't know, what did the seal say?_ " Weiss mimics.

"Dam!" Yang finishes, laughing way to hard at her own joke.

It's only encouraged by Nora and Jaunes laughter as well, who are more likely laughing at Weiss's noncompliance rather than the terrible joke itself.

I find myself giving a chuckle and peeking over at Weiss, who's looking down at her mug somewhat distractedly.

I'm about to ask her what's wrong when she looks over to meet my gaze.

"Ruby." Weiss says, voice low and somewhat concerning.

"What is it? Something wrong?"

She shakes her head but looks up to me with uncertain eyes. "Well, I've been thinking a lot recently… and I've decided- …I've decided I want to tell the rest of the council."

My eyes widen in questioning. "Tell them…?"

"About us."

I set my hot chocolate down and give Weiss a concerned look. "Seriously? Right now?"

"After I give my speech, yes." She takes a deep breath and looks at me with firmness. "I'm tired of hiding it and I'm ready to be outright with our friends, regardless of my family's pretenses."

Weiss stands up and brushes off some light flurries from her skirt. She brings her hot chocolate mug up and hits it with a metal spoon that was sitting on the table for mixing. "May I please have everyone's attention for a toast?" She calls over the rowdy members, who eventually calm to a murmur.

One of the bands that the school hired is now playing a soft jazzy beat from the stage that many people are singing or swaying along to.

"Right, well, as you all know the Music Festival is what ends our mid-year agenda. I know we've all been working long and hard these past few weeks, but I think it's safe to say we can all rest easy over winter break. As you've said, this has ended up being the most successful mid-year event in the council's history thanks to all of you."

Some woops are heard from around the table and a few claps here and there.

"I guess I can begin by saying how grateful I really am to have you all not only in the council, but in my life. I know I can be a little hard to work with at times-"

Yang scoffs across the table and leans her jaw onto her hand. "A little? That's pretty generous, Pres."

Blake elbows her in the side, making her grunt, and Weiss rolls her eyes, continuing her speech.

"Okay maybe I can be _moderately_ difficult at times - but I really don't know what I would do without you all helping me along the way." Weiss looks away for a moment, and I take notice for the reason that she is rarely unable to maintain eye contact with people.

"Being the president of this group… it's something I wouldn't trade for the world. I really do think about how thankful I am every day that you are all here to lend me a hand. At the beginning of this year I remember stressing about finding a new vice president, finding someone who I could trust to handle filing duties, and someone who knows how to handle a council budget… and now here I am with one of the most talented second hands, a filing system that is beyond what I could have asked for and a treasurer who was able to crunch numbers to make this happen." Weiss says, motioning around her.

"Don't go getting too sentimental on us." Pyrrha laughs from across the table, placing her hand over Jaune's.

… _Well that's new._

"I too think we've all well deserved this." Ren humbly agrees. "It's only halfway through the school year, but I would say things are looking good for us."

"Don't forget my poster printing skills!" Nora chimes in from beside Ren. "I've had paper cuts for weeks!"

Weiss chuckles, good-naturedly, and nods. "Yes, of course I didn't forget that. I don't forget anything you guys do because you're all just as important to making this council run as the next member. We made this happen and let's not forget it – and to that I say cheers." She states, picking up her hot chocolate and raising it.

I grab mine as well and raise it up with the rest of the council members in a toast, looking expectantly at my amazing president.

"To exceeding expectations." She finishes.

"To exceeding expectations!" The rest of the council cheers, everyone bumping drinks together and taking a swig of the warm liquid.

"Ugh, this has to be the best hot chocolate ever." Nora blissfully exclaims.

Yang smirks across from her and swirls her mug a bit. "I know right? Velvet said she got the good stuff just for us."

"For real you guys?" Jaune questions looking down at his cup. "Mine tastes like watery syrup."

"You have to poor the mix in all the way, Dear." Pyrrha says, pitifully.

"Huh? Do you know where my mix went?" He questions.

Blake tilts her head and gives a chuckle into her mug as Yang skillfully slides the two empty packets of hot chocolate mix off the table and into her lap.

"Hey, I saw that!" Jaune whines.

"Saw what?" Yang asks with mock confusion.

Weiss sighs and clears her throat. "Before I let you all get back to it, there _is_ something else I would like to disclose with you." She says, catching my eye and taking a breath.

"Weiss, you- you really don't have to." I lean in to let her know.

"I think it's about time, don't you?" She asks, her blue eyes meeting mine with a solemn look.

"But your father-"

Weiss shakes her head and sets her mug down on the table where a light dusting of snow had accumulated. "I honestly don't give a damn about what my father thinks of me anymore."

She clears her throat and I see a light flush of pink spread across her features, easily missed if you weren't looking for it. "Well, ehm, it's about the v-vice president and I, you see…"

Yang gets an impish grin on her face and Blake looks to Weiss with a raised eyebrow. The attention makes her pull at her collar peeking through her jacket in a nervous motion.

"You see, we are actually in a partnership or sorts- we have been having a close relationship for a while and it has escalated- no- accumulated?"

"Try developed!" Yang oh-so-helpfully cuts in across the table, only serving to make Weiss more nervous.

"Right, developed." She corrects herself. "Into a… It's somewhat complicated, well, not really actually, but I didn't intend for it to happen is what I s-suppose I'm trying to say. We have this-"

"Weiss and I are dating." I finish, knowing if I let her ramble any longer her head might implode.

Blank stares from across the table and a smirk is shot our way from Yang - a few jaw drops - and then a gasp from one end of the table.

"I _knew_ it!" Nora yells, jumping from her chair and pointing an incriminating finger at Ren. "You owe me ten bucks!"

"Hah, gay!" Yang chortles, cupping her hands around her mouth. This earns her a smack in the ribs from Blake, who turns to us and gives a modest smile.

"We're happy for you." She simply says.

"Since when has this been a thing, if you don't mind me asking?" Pyrrha asks, giving us a smile.

Weiss and I look at each other, while I feel my brows furrow in thought. "Uhh, maybe since, like, a few months after school started?"

"That long!?" Jaune exclaims, leaning back in his chair and covering his face with his hands. "Oh, god. I feel like an idiot."

"There, there." Yang says, sarcastically leaning over to pat his head a few times.

"Well, I think you two are adorable." Nora states, holding her hand out. "It's the classic innocent girl meets tsundere plot, is it not?"

Ren shakes his head and just takes a disappointed sip of his hot chocolate.

"The what?" I ask, scratching my head in confusion.

Yang laughs again from her seat and raises an eyebrow at Nora. "Hah, yeah right, _innocent_ my ass. I've caught these two-"

"- _Anyways,_ " Weiss loudly interrupts. "That is everything I have to say, so please enjoy the rest of you time spent at the festival and try your best _not_ to slander your friends."

Yang sticks her tongue out at Weiss who proceeds to give her a signature death glare in return.

"Hey, everyone!" A voice calls from behind where Weiss and I were sitting.

We turn around to spot Velvet appearing through some of the crowd. She's wearing a thick winter coat with a scarf wrapped around her neck and has a fluffy white bag in hand.

"Velvet!" Pyrrha greets, giving a wave.

"I was wondering where you guys had set up, I forgot to give you this-"

"Marshmallows!" Yang and Nora cheer in unison, making Weiss wince and Velvet's eyes widen in surprise.

Yang places a hand to her chest and pretends to wipe a tear away. "Oh, what a blessing, really, you're too kind. Throw 'em here!" She says, standing and holding her arms out.

Velvet rolls her eyes and tosses the bag of miniature marshmallows over to the members.

"Hmph, just because they're all hopped up on sugar doesn't give them an excuse to act like animals." Weiss scoffs, turning to Velvet. "How is everything going?" She asks.

"Oh, great!" Velvet giggles, giving two thumbs up. "Ozpin helped us restock on the hot chocolate packets and everyone seems to be having a good time. You two really outdid yourselves."

"Sal-u-tations, councilmen!" someone greets, popping up behind an unsuspecting Velvet.

I say someone but, in reality, there's only one person it could be that would give such a robotic and classic greeting upon seeing me.

"Penny!" I exclaim, standing up and bouncing over to give my friend a hug. "I didn't know if I would get to see you today!"

"Why, of course! I do have yearbook duties, you know."

"You're into photography?" Velvet questions, turning to my orange-haired friend.

Penny eagerly nods. "Oh, yes. My father got me interested in the trade from a very young age!"

"Well, that's neat, you'll have to show me what you shoot sometime. I've always loved photography." Velvet admits.

"That's an understatement." Weiss says from beside me. "Remember when you were in the council? All the events you talked about getting to take photographs at?"

"Oh, those were the days." Velvet sighs.

"Enough chit-chat! Penny says, grabbing the camera around her neck and popping off the cap. "C'mon you two! Let me get a good shot of the president and vice president! That _is_ what I came over here for."

I smile and sit back down next to Weiss, leaning over to wrap an arm around her shoulder as instructed by the somewhat bossy photographer, who also happened to be my best friend.

Velvet gives her some pointers on how to shoot, while Weiss and I attempt to ignore the whistling and jeering across the table from the other members. The only thing I can do is watch Weiss's reddening face out of the corner of my eye, knowing it's probably matching my own.

Penny finishes taking the pictures, inspecting them with Velvet and, upon request, showing some of the other members as well. The thing is, nothing they're saying really seems to get through to me at the moment.

Weiss and I watch each other, and I slip my arm from around her shoulder to clasp her hand that rests in her lap.

There are people all around us, chatting and laughing with one another, music blaring from the speakers on stage, kids chasing each other through the stalls. All of this is happening and yet this singular girl in front of me seems to take up all my attention, a lone spark in a vast field full of distractions, she's able to keep me grounded.

As cheesy as it sounds, it's almost like my heart just naturally follows her. I want to be a better person for her, make her smile and whisk her off her feet, plating a thousand kisses to her lips and proceeding to spend the rest of our lives together.

Our relationship was definitely bumpy at the beginning, but I think I'm finally coming to understand how this all really works – we both are.

"Sometimes it feels like I'm so blind when it comes to us." Weiss says, quietly, words low enough for only me to hear.

I can't help but smile and lean closer to her, my hand squeezing hers under the table as though it were a life raft.

"Do you mean like now?" I ask, my fingers sliding through hers. "All I can see is you."

* * *

The snow accumulates a good few inches throughout the evening and, as the sun starts to dip below the horizon, I watch as the school lights begin to turn on, one by one.

For the rest of the festival, I chat with the council, eventually moving to sit in front of the stage, along with most other festival goers.

There's laughs to be had all around and plenty of reminiscing and story telling from moments early on in the year. The more we talk and discourse about remembered events, the more I feel this pang in my chest, telling me that I'm really going to miss having these guys around after graduation.

I look around at the other members, all sitting in somewhat of a semi-circle facing the stage, so we're still able to talk to each other and hear the bands playing. There's been plenty of solo performances from certain students and many more group bands, either from the school or hired by the faculty.

At the moment, we're listening to a small alternative band play a song that I've never really heard before, but it sounds very cordial and mellow all the same. Weiss to my left and the other members all sit to my right, chattering amongst themselves and throwing some empty drink packets around. Of course, we're still surrounded by tons of other students and families sitting and listening to the music as well, however we still sit on the outskirts, giving us a way to easily escape the crowd if any of us are needed elsewhere.

Cardin walks by with a few of his friends, and I notice him give me an irked look as he passes. I don't say anything, however, instead shaking my head and ignoring their snickering.

I fiddle with the scarf around my neck and breath out a cold breath of air as I listen to the music. As entertaining as this festival has been, all good things must come to an end, and the thought makes a melancholy smile appear on my face.

Feeling a tug on my pants, I look over to a concerned Weiss.

"Are you alright, Ruby?" She asks, tilting her head.

I briefly place my hand over hers in assurance and give her a lopsided grin. "I'm fine, just thinking."

"About?"

I shrug, not really knowing how to answer her. I've just been having so much fun lately it's weird to think about it all coming to an end so soon.

"I dunno. I guess maybe what you said when you were over at my house the other day and during your speech – how you were gonna miss this." I lean back on my hands and crisscross my legs in front of me. "…I think I'm really gonna miss it too."

"We still have half a year before graduation, you know?" She inquires.

I chuckle and lean over to brush some of her bangs to the side, seeing as they were being pushed into her eyes by her beanie. "I know… Maybe I'll just have to follow you to Beacon then, yeah?"

Weiss just gives a small laugh and shakes her head as I run my hand across her cheek.

I hear a whistle and Weiss and I both turn to see Yang pointing at us with a shocked expression. "PDA! PDA! Someone get Goodwitch!"

" _Yang!_ " I gripe with embarrassment.

Nora dramatically puts a hand on Ren's shoulder and gasps "Quick! Someone get the president-! Oh, wait-!"

My hand drops from Weiss's face as though I had touched a hot skillet and Weiss's cheeks burn red with embarrassment as she scoots away from me and attempts to stutter a retort of some kind.

"Would you guys quit teasing them?" Blake huffs, giving an irritated look towards Yang. "I want to hear the music."

"But it's just so _easy_. I mean, look at them- agh!?" Blake elbows Yang in the stomach and offers me a small smile.

I give her a shy grin in return, silently thanking her.

Out of nowhere - I hear a voice shout at me. "Hey, Red! Catch!"

Before I get the chance to turn around, something large and cold hits the back of my head and, purely out of reflex, I rear myself back.

"Ruby?" Weiss frets, covering her mouth out of surprise. "Are you okay!?"

I groan and hold my hand to the back of my head, feeling wet chunks of snow littered throughout my hair. Wiping off the remnants of snow, I give a thumbs up to Weiss and the rest of the concerned council.

"I'm good. That really came out of nowhere, huh?"

There are some snickers not too far away, making the council members all turn and squint our eyes in the direction of some of the empty stalls.

Cardin and a few of his buddies lean against an empty table on the outskirts of the festival. He's throwing a snowball up and down and is smirking at us with an intimidating expression.

Weiss stands up, shooting him one of her frightening glares that she always pulls when she's pissed.

"Cardin Winchester! How incredibly uncouth of you!"

"Oh, damn. Big words there, Pres… What're ya gonna do about it?" Cardin challenges, turning towards the rest of the council.

Weiss harrumphs, obviously irked at Cardin's smugness. She steps around the rest of the council and bends down momentarily, quickly balling up some snow in her palms. My eyes grow wide in surprise as she rears her arm back and throws the snowball back at Cardin.

For a moment I'm impressed, it's not often I see Weiss getting this pissed off. However, doing a little spin, Cardin easily sidesteps the ball of snow, _tsking_ at Weiss.

"Nice one, Ice Queen. All that money, yet daddy never taught ya how to throw a snowball?"

I feel my face scrunch up in annoyance as one of Cardin's friends slap his knee. "Man, that was the weakest shit I've ever se-! _umf-?_ "

His friend gets pegged in the chest with a snowball being hurled towards him at the speed of an angry council member hopped up on three cups of hot chocolate.

"Pres might not be the best at picking a fight," My sister says, stepping forward and crossing her arms. "but don't forget we're here too."

A wicked grin forms on Cardin's face and he looks down at the snowball in his hand.

"Oh, you're _on_."

" _Snowball fight!_ " Cardin's friends shout, stumbling over each other to take cover.

They manage to duck and run behind an empty food stall as Cardin rears his hand back to throw the snow in his hand.

"Every man for themselves!" Nora yells, standing up and sprinting behind a nearby picnic table.

Ren rolls his eyes but jogs over after her.

"Help me flip this!" Nora says, a wild grin spreading on her face.

"Like you need my help." Ren counters, goodheartedly, helping her lift it up anyways.

Blake shakes her head and takes another sip of hot chocolate. "You've got to be kidding me."

Jaune and Pyrrha look at each other before nodding and sprinting off in different directions, avoiding a few throws from Cardin's friends hiding behind the stalls.

"Watch out, Blake!" Yang yells, jumping in front of where the quiet girl sits.

My sister gets hit in the back with Cardin's snowball, sending chunks of snow flying everywhere and earning a few gasps from some onlookers, probably amused by this whole situation.

"I've been hit! Go on without me! I know it might seem difficult, but you must fight for me!" Yang says in a gravely voice, clutching her chest as she lays in the snow.

"Oh, I think I can manage." Blake says, sipping out of her mug.

Yang raises an eyebrow at her, irritation evident. "…You're no fun, you know that?" She gripes.

My sister stands up and quickly dusts herself off, reaching down for Blakes hand. "C'mon, we can go hide behind that block of snow over there." She says, pointing to a nearby bank of snow.

Blake retorts in annoyance but takes her hand and follows her all the same, their boots making loud crunching noises in the snow as they proceed.

Weiss and I, now left alone, share a glance, asking each other what to do next.

Our moment of silence is broken, as multiple snowballs are being prepared to be pelted our way.

"Quick, Weiss! This way!" I giggle, grabbing her hand and running over to an empty cart that was most likely being used to serve hot chocolate earlier.

We have to duck from a few of the fluffy projectiles being thrown across the space between all of us, but it's not that difficult, seeing as there weren't many snowballs made yet.

"What do we do?" Weiss questions as soon as we're behind our cover.

"Make as many snowballs as you can - and fast!" I say, scooping up snow and making my first weapon.

Nora ducks out from the upturned picnic table and begins firing off snowballs being handed to her by Ren. "You'll never get us alive!" She yells, catching the attention of some nearby kids and a few other students, as though we weren't attracting enough attention already.

Some of the onlookers decide to join in, taking cover where they can and running through the firing zone that's between all of us. While Weiss and I quickly prepare some more snowballs, we listen to multiple angry family members telling their kids to come back to them, and many kids running by and laughing as they run in and out of the firing zone.

"I hope we won't hear anything from Mr. Ozpin about this…" Weiss grumbles, pushing some snow together.

"Incoming!" I hear one of Cardin's friends yell, noticing Pyrrha had come up behind their stalls, a handful of fluffy projectiles at her disposal.

Jaune dashes from the opposite direction he'd been hiding in, ramming into Cardin's side and knocking them both down in the snow with a muffled _thump_.

"The hell?" I can barely hear Cardin's voice over the band playing on stage. "Get off me, Dweeb."

"Now, Pyrrha!" He yells.

Weiss and I look over to where Pyrrha hides behind the stall, having just thoroughly pelted both of Cardin's friends, who retreat to a nearby snowbank. Pyrrha has one snowball left now and turns to throw it at where Cardin is attempting to get up in the snow.

Right when she lets the ball fly, a few nearby kids who had joined in throw a couple of snowy projectiles, hitting Pyrrha's throwing arm. She messes up her throw and the ball ends up nailing Jaune in the side of his head, making him fall back into the snow with a muffled groan.

"Ouch." I say, Weiss and I both grimacing.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha calls, waving at him in apology as the kids who had hit her run off to a different side of the chaos.

"Oh, that's gotta hurt." Nora comments, watching Jaune struggle to get up.

Cardin laughs and brushes some snow off his pants, standing up in an attempt to escape the multiple snowballs being fired out into the open area.

"We have an opening, Weiss! Now's our chance!" I exclaim.

I take the few snowballs in my grasp and hand one to Weiss, both of us ducking out from behind the cart and taking our shots at the fleeing bully. Mine zips by right in front of his head as he runs off and Weiss's falls short about ten feet or so.

As we watch him run off behind some stalls, I turn to Weiss and raise an eyebrow at her. "You're pretty bad at this, huh?"

"S-Shut up!" Weiss stammers at me, face reddening. "At least I was trying to help!"

I give her an amused look and reach over to poke her cheek with my finger.

"You're really cute when you blush… Have I ever told you that?"

Weiss looks surprised by my admission – and looks as though she about to make a retort of some kind – when a snowball explodes on the side of the cart we're standing behind.

I quickly grab Weiss's arm and drag her to duck behind the cart, both of us peeking out to see who the culprit was.

Nora is looking in our direction, giving us a smug look beside the overturned picnic table.

"What was that for!?" Weiss asks, aggravated by the surprise attack.

"Hey, don't look at me. I'm not the one flirting on the battlefield here!"

Weiss puts a hand to her temple and gives Nora an incredulous look. "Aren't we on the same side!?"

"There are no sides in war!" Nora declares.

"Yes, there are!"

Nora puts a hand to her chin, momentarily in thought, then giving us a shrug. "The only side I'm on is mischief! _Ahaha!_ "

Weiss rolls her eyes but we both proceed to throw a few more snowballs at Nora and Ren and over to where Blake and Yang hide behind their snow pile.

I actually hear Weiss giggle a few times, while ducking in and out of cover and chucking a few snowballs towards other people in the fight. The sound of her laugh is more like music to my ears than the band playing on stage.

Eventually the amount of people playing becomes much larger and Weiss and I are forced to find different cover if we don't want to be pelted from behind. I scan the area as best I can, spotting two tents with some carnival-like games in them not too far away.

"C'mon, Weiss. Over there!" I say, grabbing her hand and waiting for a good time to cross through the line of fire.

There's a moment where the snowballs die down a bit, people probably having to make some more, that gives us a good opening to change cover.

"Now!"

We both stand up and run towards the tents, having to go around some kids who were laughing and running through the grounds as well. Just as we're about to reach the tent, I hear Weiss gasp and, turning my head slightly, I see Cardin peek out from behind the other end of the tent, already rearing his arm back, no intent of letting this snowball fly gently.

"Don't worry, Weiss! I've got this!" I shout, sticking my leg out far in front of me to slow my running, making an unsuspecting Weiss be shielded behind me.

"Dunce, don't-!"

Cardin lets the ball fly and it ends up hitting me hard in the chest, snow crashing off my jacket and throwing me off balance.

"Agh! I've been shot!" I exclaim, dramatically clasping my chest and falling to my knees in the light snow between the tents.

Cardin snickers and disappears around the corner as I fall the rest of the way into the snow and onto my back, looking up to the sky and clutching my chest.

Weiss walks over to me and crouches down by my head, giving me a look somewhere between concern and amusement.

"You're an idiot." She deadpans.

I break character for a moment and look at her, exasperated. "You're supposed to ask if I'm okay!"

"Fine. Are you okay?" Weiss sighs.

I collapse back into the snow, clutching my jacket to my chest again and coughing a few times for good measure. "I think it's killed me! I can't go on!"

"I think it's brain damage…" Weiss mutters.

"Only a kiss can bring me back from the dead!" I let my head fall towards Weiss, peaking at her with one eye.

"Do you know how overused and stupid that line is?"

No response.

"I can't believe you sometimes, get up."

No response.

"I'm not doing that, Ruby, now get the hell up."

No response.

" _Ruby…_ " Weiss sighs, defeated. She looks around and sees no one paying attention, only aided by us being carefully tucked away between the tents.

Quickly leaning down, she brushes my bangs to the side and gives a gentle kiss to my forehead. Even with the cold numbing all my senses, her kiss is soft as always and just the small peck to my temple is enough to warm up my entire body.

I feel myself grin and I squint one of my eyes open. "The forehead? Not even the mouth?"

 _Thump._

"Don't test me."

I lean myself up on and elbow and hold my hand to my freshly thumped forehead. "I'm just saying if you're going to at all, it might as well have been the- _omf_ -!?"

Once again, something wet and cold is thrown at the back of my head and I immediately turn around, expecting the culprit to be a certain bully I'm all to familiar with. To my surprise, my dad and Uncle walk up behind us.

"This is quite the show you kids have put on." My Uncle says, walking up to Weiss and I sitting in the snow. "We were lookin' for ya, but then we heard there was a huge snowball fight happening on the other side of the festival and we figured you were probably somehow involved.

Weiss hastily stands up and greets my family members as they walk over, offering me a hand up. We both give each other a questioning look as she helps me off the ground, wondering if they saw what had just happened.

"Yeah, what gives?" My dad questions, looking a bit miffed. "You guys were planning on having a snowball fight in the middle of the festival and you didn't think to invite your old man!"

"It wasn't exactly planned." Weiss confides, brushing off her jacket.

"Yeah. This Jerkface Cardin Winchester started it." I say, blowing some hair out of my face.

"Well he might've started it-" My dad says, bending down and grabbing a handful of snow, using his hands to shape it into a ball. "-but I'm planning on finishing it... Get over here you little rascal!"

Weiss and I look at each other with amused expressions and take off running in the other direction.

"You gotta catch us first!"

* * *

The rest of the festival we spend with family and friends, chucking snowballs, enjoying the night air, singing along to different bands, and eventually, once all the performers and musicians had gone, listening to some popular music on the radio that was played through some old speakers.

At the end of the night we had to help shut down a lot of the festival and help make sure the crowd leaves in an orderly fashion. According to Weiss, we'll be spending most of our weekend, along with the rest of the council and staff, cleaning up the courtyard and helping Pyrrha count the profits we made.

Once some of the cleaning preparations were done, we all said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways.

Weiss comes with me to get my bike off the rack, making it feel like any old day we were leaving school. When I reach my bike and bend down to put in the right lock combination that keeps it secure to the flimsy metal rack, I hear Weiss shuffling through her pocket behind me, pulling out her phone and tapping away at the screen.

"Hey, do you think we could walk back to my place?" She asks, looking up from the glowing screen.

"You don't want to ride my bike back?" I question, pulling the lock apart and unhooking it from the handlebars.

"It's a really nice night out and I wanted to walk is all." She clarifies.

I reach around to unzip my backpack and put the lock in it. "It's pretty late, but if you want to, sure."

"Thanks." Weiss smiles at me. "It's too nice of a night out to take it for granted."

I nod in agreement and pull my bike out from the rack, brushing some accumulated snow off the seat. "Who're you texting? Winter?" I ask her.

Weiss adjusts her beanie and begins typing something else on her phone. "Yeah. She's headed home early and is going to bed. She wanted to tell me goodnight, since she'll probably be asleep when we get back."

"I'm still staying over tonight, right?" I ask, throwing her a questioning glance as I wheel my bike out the front entrance of the school, Weiss walking in step beside me.

"If you'd like. We do have a lot to do this weekend. It would be quite convenient."

"Oh, I'd definitely like." I say, bumping her shoulder with mine.

"Hush, you." She scolds, proceeding to shake her head but letting out a small chuckle anyways. "Look, Winter's home, there can be absolutely no funny business tonight, understood?"

"Hmm…" I ponder, holding a hand to my chin and wheeling my bike with the other "Somehow I feel like I've heard that phrase before…"

"I mean it!" Weiss states firmly, pointing an incriminating finger at me. "Don't you start with that."

"Aww… Not even a little?" I say, turning away and making a pouting face.

"None!"

I glance over at Weiss and catch her looking somewhat embarrassed, a light blush on her cheek. When she catches me staring - I raise my eyebrows and wiggle them a few times – Weiss then proceeding to slap my arm multiple times as I try and dodge her the best I can without letting go of my bike.

Once her assault is over, I grin and take another glance at Weiss walking along beside me, her shoes making a nice clicking noise on the sidewalk in the quiet night air. The streetlamps cast a dim glow on the concrete beneath us, giving us just enough light that I'm able to walk my bike without tripping over the pedals every moment.

I look up at the sky, and through the snow-covered tree branches I spot a familiar bright speck. "Ah, look! The North Star!" I exclaim, pointing at the speck is the sky.

Weiss leans over and follows my line of sight, eventually spotting it and making an impressed sound. "It's so bright compared to the others…Didn't you say it was two stars that orbit each other though?"

I look over to Weiss, surprised. "You remember that?"

She gives me a confused glance in return. "Yes? Is that odd?"

"Wha- No! It's just - anytime I tell Yang or my dad something nerdy like that… they always just seem to forget it." I admit, scratching the back of my head.

"Well, of course I'm always listening to you, Ruby, but something like that… said on such an important night to me - it's hard to forget."

I find myself grinning, bumping Weiss's shoulder with mine once more. "Special night, huh?"

Weiss looks up at the sky again, letting her breath fog up the air in front of her as we near her neighborhood. "Yes, very special."

A few minutes later, we make it to Weiss's house. She enters the code into the gate, like she always does, and once we're inside and pass the big fountain in the center of her yard, I lean my bike against the outside of her front porch.

Following her inside, I notice there are a few lights left on in the hallway, most likely because Winter knew Weiss was getting home late. We take off our shoes and quietly pad our way up to Weiss's room, every noise made seeming to echo off the house's large corridor walls.

As Weiss opens the door to her room, I make a low whistle as I'm ushered inside.

"It feels like I haven't been in your room in forever." I say, running my hand along the edge of her vanity. "Still as neat and plain as I remember it."

Weiss walks over to her closet and slides the door open, taking off her beanie and placing it on a hook. "...I'm just going to take that as a compliment." She says.

I look over her blue walls and princess like bed, remembering feeling the soft fabric and running my hands along the bedframe from the last time I was in here, all the way back towards the beginning of the year, when Weiss was sick. This was the place I realized I had feelings for Weiss.

The though brings a small smile to my face as I scan over the rest of the room, my eyes falling on a picture sitting at the end of Weiss's vanity. It was the picture that had been hanging up in the living room – of Weiss and Winter when they were younger.

Walking over and bending down to get a better look at the photo, I trace part of the border with my finger and grin at the younger Weiss – still just as gorgeous as she is today. "This is a really nice picture." I comment, quietly.

Weiss looks at it questioningly, then gives me a tight smile. "Yes, it is." She says, quickly looking back out her bedroom door. "Say, Ruby… would you like to go for a walk in the garden?"

"Didn't we just get inside? And isn't it too cold for you?"

Weiss thinks for a moment - and then reaches out her arm to me - opening her palm. "I have you to keep me warm."

I smile and walk over to take her hand without question. "Pfft, that's so cheesy."

"Are you declining?"

"Wha-? No way! let's go!" I quickly say, following her out of her bedroom.

We head back down the stairs and grab our shoes from the entryway, whispering and giggling as we attempt to quietly pad our way through the maze-like hallways and to her backdoor, trying not to wake Winter up.

While I sit on the top step of the concrete porch, Weiss flicks on a few of the switches that turn on the lamps lining the intricate pathways around the yard, lined with flowerbeds that are about three or so feet off the ground. In the central most point of the yard is a koi pond with its own lights, reflecting off some of the fishes swimming about.

"Pretty neat, right?" Weiss says, walking up behind me.

"Neat?" I say gaping at all the flowers and lights, everything covered in a light dusting of snow. "This is super-duper-mega awesome! How come you've never shown me this before?"

Weiss shrugs and walks down a few steps. "It's not like I come out here that often. It's only in such nice condition because of our gardeners."

I walk down the rest of the stairs and make my way to one of the flowerbeds, stepping up onto the somewhat tall structure and holding my arms out to get my balance.

"You better not fall." I hear Weiss say as she comes up beside me.

" _Pshh_ , I'm a pro at this." I say, walking down the row of flowers and hopping over to the next flowerbed about four feet apart. "See?"

Weiss rolls her eyes and walks beside me on the ground. "Still, if you fall and crack your head open it wouldn't be very good PR for the Schnee name."

Raising my eyebrows and turning to look at her, I reach one of my hands down to offer it to her. "Well, then, you'll just have to help me keep my balance then, won't you?"

"I suppose I will." She says, taking my hand and following me along the flowerbed.

We follow along some of the pathways lining the pond, Weiss telling me what some of the different flowers are and helping me keep my balance on the ledges I continue walking across.

Eventually, we've rounded the garden multiple times and I reach the end of the flowerbed near the central pond. As I hop down, Weiss gives me a smile, hand still clasping mine, but something about the look she's giving me seems off.

"Is something bothering you?" I ask.

Weiss fiddles with her snowflake bracelet around her sleeve, biting her lip and looking up at me with earnest eyes.

"The thing you said earlier - about the photo… I hated getting my picture taken back then." She says, shifting her hand and running a finger down her scar. "I think I was just afraid of seeing my true self, you know? Seeing what I hated so much in the mirror."

Without even thinking, I reach over to cup Weiss's face, as though my body is moving on my own. It's a natural movement, my hands being familiar with the affirming motion. After brushing my thumb across her cheek, I wrap my hands lower and pull her into a tight hug.

"I wish I knew you back then... like, the _real_ you."

Leaning back, I look at Weiss and brush some hair behind her ear, running my fingers slowly to the ends.

"Why's that?" She asks, breathily.

I let my hand slip through the rest of her hair. "Because then I could have told her that you became a really, _really_ good person..." I murmur, leaning my forehead gently against Weiss's, watching her eyes close and feeling her warmth as though it's the only thing keeping me alive.

"And that you'll meet a person who really, _really_ loves you."

After a moment of hesitation, I watch Weiss's eyes open, widening in realization, her face softening as the prettiest smile spreads across her rosy cheeks.

I gaze at her, my features mirroring the happiness she expresses through her glistening eyes.

"You're such a Dolt." She says, shaking her forehead against mine, her giddy laughter being mixed with the sound of someone who's holding back tears in the cold night air.

"And I absolutely love you back."

 _ **-Fin-**_

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I can't begin to explain how surreal it was to write this chapter.**

 **Thanks to all of those who gave feedback and read through this whole thing :) I'm glad you enjoyed it.**

 **I feel like I've improved so much over these past few years and I never in a million years would have thought I would get so much love from this story. You guys are the best** **(─‿─)**

 **My next story will also be a whiterose fantasy au feel free to follow for updates!**

 **I leave off by asking you guys to give me your full reviews on what you thought. What was your favorite moment? Chapter? What'd you think of the pacing? What do you think are some of the story's strengths/weaknesses? Anything you want to comment on or give criticism to, feel free, and of course my pm's are always open.**

 **That's all I have to say really. Writing this story was so much fun and it'll always hold a special little place in my heart.**

 **Hope You Enjoyed.**

 **I know I did :)**


	24. Epilogue: A Sister's Perspective

**I Think I Like You – Yang POV**

 **Epilogue: A Sister's Perspective**

My sister has never been the best at hiding things.

She always gets flustered really fast and overly compensates with her body movement when she has something she's refraining from saying, like tugging at her neck collar or refusing to make eye contact

Growing up, I never did notice this behavior much. She was a good kid, maybe a little hyperactive and excitable, but good nonetheless.

However, during our senior year at Beacon, I notice her demeanor change ever-so-slightly - once she joined the council.

The first day she joined, I remember in the moments after our introductions, we proceeded to start arguing and chattering amongst ourselves.

I laughed as Jaune tried to defend himself and the other members were quick to take a side. Resting my hands on the table, I took a brief moment to look across the room at my sister.

"Is it always like this?" She asked the council president, Weiss, eyes wide in questioning.

Weiss turned to her with an irritated expression and my sister looked down to the floor, probably intimidated beyond belief, the poor girl.

"Sadly, yes this is it." The pres gave a familiar sigh that I knew all too well at that point. "Welcome to the student council."

* * *

Early on, there were days I would watch her out of the corner of my eye, while I was barely paying attention to playing games on my phone or absentmindedly handing off folders to Blake.

Being the older sister, I had always felt responsibility for Ruby, especially with our moms out of the picture. It was second nature to me at this point to observe her whenever she was near me.

"This is too hard, Weiss. I told you I can't do it!" She would complain, attempting for the tenth time to run to the copier correctly.

"Quit doubting yourself and just press the buttons as I say!" Weiss fired back at her.

Ruby bit her lip and twiddled her fingers together. "But last time I accidently copied all those pages wrong! I don't want that to happen again."

"Yes, as I'm thoroughly aware of, seeing as I got an earful about the incident from Ms. Goodwtich." Weiss griped, pinching her nose in frustration. "Now, just press the color preference button!"

"I'll mess it up!" Ruby fretted.

"Stop acting like a third grader!"

"Stop yelling at me!"

My sister was skittish around her, warry, and I could tell Weiss wasn't in the least bit thrilled to have a new member to train, especially one as giddy and somewhat dense as my sister.

They clashed, butted heads about almost anything. It was enough to give the rest of the council a headache to say the least.

I don't exactly remember when, but at some point, their demeanor around each other… changed, like something had happened between them. Weiss was still harsh and bossy, but somewhat less so around Ruby, as if she felt bad for treating her like she was inferior or foolish at times.

Ruby was a whole different story though. I've never seen her stick to someone as close as she would to the president. She acted like she was a baby koala bear and Weiss was her mom, who she clung to with an urgency that was a little off-putting, not bad or anything, but noticeable even to someone as, admittedly, blockheaded as me.

I never did ask her about it though.

"Hey, Blake." I asked one day, whilst we were sitting alone, counting folders in the council room. "Do those two seem different to you?"

"Hmm?" Blake inquires, absentmindedly, not paying full attention as she flipped through the filing cabinet.

"My sister and the pres. They're acting weird, right? It's not just me seeing that?"

Blake only shrugged and tucked some more papers away. "I think it's nice they're finally getting along."

"I guess… It's just weird seeing Ruby stick to her like a piece of gum stuck under her shoe or something."

Blake glanced over at me through her eyelashes, her dark hair hiding most of her eyes, watching me as I sifted through folders distractedly.

"If you're worried about your sister finding someone she'd rather hang out with than you, you should be happy. She's a senior, not to mention her own person."

I exasperatedly held my head up and reached my arm out to gesture. "Well, duh. I know that. I just don't want Ice princess screwing with Rubes head, she's impressionable."

"She's not the only one." I heard Blake mutter.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Can you hand me the reports at the bottom of the stack?"

* * *

During one of our meetings I made the slip up of calling Weiss Ice Queen in front of Ruby. Needless to say, her reaction was not what I expected.

"I said, _don't call her that._ "

The animosity of her words had stunned me into silence, confusion, and I made up for it the only way I knew how, through humor.

"Geez, Rubes, I'm sorry. Didn't know you hated nicknames so much."

At the time, I didn't know what to think. Never had I seen my good-natured sister be so set off like that. I started to think maybe Weiss had something to do with it, the way she was hot-headed and stubborn had been rubbing off on my little sister.

We made up later, both of us admitting we were somewhat in the wrong, but I couldn't help the nagging thought in the back of my head that the president might have been responsible.

I brought it up to Blake the next day, as we sat eating lunch under a tree in the courtyard. Blake munched on an apple and she flipped a page in her book, while I explained my thought process to her, knowing she would understand the situation best of anyone.

"Well, what do you think? Is my sister's purity being tarnished by the pres?... She did leave the house this morning without thanking me for pouring her milk. Oh _god_ , what am I gonna do?"

Blake finished the line she was reading and annoyedly took her bookmark to set between the next page, shutting the book with a satisfying _thump_. "First off, Weiss is uptight, not boorish. Second, you could see it as a good thing your sister is finally standing up for something. And third, could you please stop dropping your farcical, internal-crisis problems on me during lunch? This isn't your therapy session."

I groaned and fell back onto my back in the grass. "I'm just worried is all. She's never had a friend like this before."

"What about the orange-haired girl I see her with sometimes?" Blake questioned.

"Who? Penny? She doesn't count."

"Why not?"

"'Cause Penny's… different." I said, like it was the most obvious thing to know.

"Different how?"

"I don't know!" I groaned again, covering my face and peaking through my fingers at the sky. "They're both antisocial geeks who don't understand how to give a proper greeting. Weiss is like - she's like the final boss in one of those games - where if she defeats you then your reputation is ruined forever."

"How dramatic." Blake deadpanned. "You should join theater club."

I sat up and gave her an incredulous look. "This is serious!"

The quieter girl blew out a tired breath of air and rested her hands on her knees, sitting crisscross and leaning back against the tree behind her. "Theatrics aside, you should just let it be. Ruby's got a good head on her shoulders. She's not going to go join a gang or something because Weiss taught her how to defend herself."

"She might!"

" _Yang_."

"Gah! Whatever! I've played Yakuza, I know how these things go!"

Blake stared at me for a few moments before she started chuckling, a rare sight for my soft-spoken friend.

"I think you two are more alike than you realize."

* * *

I found myself watching them on multiple occasions.

During the chalk-walk, as I walked around helping students resupply on materials and complimenting their designs, each time I looked over to those two, Ruby always seemed to be looking at her.

Whether it be chucking paper airplanes at the Schnee or giggling in a way I know she only does when she's trying to push your buttons, they always seemed to be engaged in some way.

At one point, Velvet brought me some water towards the end of the event and I remember how glad I was too see her, since she was never around much anymore after leaving the council.

"You didn't have to bring me this, you know?" I said, opening the bottle and taking a few long swigs anyways. "We got Blake on water duty for a reason." I finished, wiping some water off my mouth.

"Oh, don't worry. It's really no bother. You all have so much on your plate as is."

I looked back over to the sign in table, having seen Ozpin walking up to my sister and the pres. Ruby was leaned over, continuing to pester Weiss by nuzzling into her shoulder, Weiss looking as though she's ready to throw my sister across the courtyard.

"Those two just never quit, do they." I sighed, saying it as more of a statement than a question.

Velvet raised a questioning eyebrow and looked over to where I was watching the older council member attempt to pry my sister off her arm. "Who? Those two? You can't be serious?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"They seem really close to me." Velvet stated, shrugging.

I laughed and shook my head, taking another quick swig of water. "Close, hmm...? I haven't heard that one before."

"I think they're quite cute, actually." She inquired, switching her gaze to some students working on their chalk design. "Oh, wow. That's a really nice one. I think I'm going to go check this out, you want to come with?" She asked, beginning to walk away.

I gave her a smile and waved her off. "Nah, I gotta keep helping around. You have fun though!"

Letting my hand fall, I sighed and shielded my eyes from the baking sun, turning back towards the sign in table.

Ozpin was walking away from the council members and Weiss had turned to Ruby, giving her a flick on the forehead. Ruby held her head and whined before the two began arguing once more.

 _Cute, huh?_

I mean, Weiss and Ruby have had many fights.

There was one right before Nora's bonfire that had the two seemingly at each other's throats for days. It was tiring to say the least.

The only way I was able to convince Ruby to come to the party was by telling her Weiss was going to be there.

It has always been hard for me to see my little sister upset, and Ruby is not one to be upset by many things. Sure, when she was younger she was a bit of a crybaby, but she's always had this sense of right and wrong – a good intuition, I suppose. If something is unfair she'll let you know and if someone if being treated wrong she won't take it at face value.

She might not know of her moral compass herself, but it's helped me out more times than I can count throughout the years.

Anyways, the two leading council members seemed to make up during Nora's party, albeit, they were still somewhat awkward, but at least they were talking again.

There was one day I was supposed to be taking Ruby home, she had ridden with me on my bike that morning instead of her bicycle.

I remember walking out of the council room, expecting her to be behind me, and turning around to find she wasn't there.

Peeking my head around the corner, I saw my sister and Weiss… watching at each other?

After a moment, I called for Ruby, making her jump and skittishly jog passed me out of the council room. Although I hadn't made it a big deal or thought much of it, I did find it quite odd at the time.

Ruby had been turned away from me, so I couldn't see what expression she was making, but the pres had this… _look_ on her face.

A look that I had a very hard time interpreting.

At the time, I was probably just too dense to see it, but for anyone else, it must have been easy to tell – the two of them shared something special.

* * *

I don't know if I can describe true surprise to you – that feeling of what being in pure shock feels like.

Maybe it's that moment your parents tell you Santa and the tooth fairy aren't real? That moment you're lying in your bed at eleven at night and remember you have a paper due the next morning? Or how about walking in on your pure and innocent little sister pinning a girl to her bedroom floor?

The sight had left me nonplused to say the least – me being too bewildered to process what I was looking at for a good few moments.

I had stiffly nodded my head and pointed out the door.

"Right…uhh, I'm gonna go somewhere that's not, uhm, here."

I stepped out and had slowly closed the door behind me, my eyes still wide and blinking as I attempted to put so many pieces together in my head.

"YANG, WAIT!" Ruby yelled, bursting through her bedroom door. "I-It's not what it looks like!"

I blinked and set my hands on my hips. "Uhh, it looks like you were making out with the p-"

"I fell!" Ruby, squeaked.

"You fell?" I found myself holding back laughter at the terrible excuse. "With your hands on Weiss's-"

"-Okay, fine! I didn't fall!" Ruby admitted, stumbling over to me. "Please don't tell dad! Or anyone for that matter!"

I remember glancing down at my sister with questioning eyes, wondering why she was acting so frantic – fearful.

Looking at the worry in her eyes made me feel uneasy. It always has.

I leaned over and brushed some hair out of her eyes, giving her a small, comforting smile. "Why don't you grab Weiss and we'll talk in the kitchen?"

After having a long and awkward talk – I just felt plain stupid for not putting the pieces together sooner.

Sure, I was surprised. At first, it seemed like a very random occurrence, myself never having even thought the two council heads might have romantic feelings for each other, but the more they explained the more it was easier for me to see how it all probably happened.

It's was easier for me to imagine Ruby having a crush on Weiss maybe, speculating from a very young age she had never been interested in boys. The president on the other hand, I would have sooner guessed she would get together with that Neptune kid who hangs around her sometimes. Maybe that's just my internal bias though.

"It's okay, Weiss." Ruby said as we finished having our conversation, watching me look at them across the table. "Yang won't say anything. _Right Yang?_ "

I found myself grinning at the two nervous council members.

Of course, I had no issues with their relationship, if anything I'm beyond happy for my little sister. I wouldn't think about telling anyone if they didn't want me to. That being said, I felt as though some light-hearted teasing was in order.

"Oh, you two are just adorable."

They groaned and Ruby told me off some more, all the while I sat at the kitchen counter with a smug grin.

I remember watching them as Ruby showed her out. Weiss took a while to say goodbye to Zwei, which seemed to irk Ruby a bit, but I continued just quietly watching them from the kitchen.

Weiss bent down to put her shoes on and I can't help but remember the look Ruby gave her when she was tying her laces. They were talking, I can't quite recall what about, but the way they just… kept _looking_ at each other has stuck with me.

It was the most mundane thing – seeing someone off that's important to you – watching how they interacted and the worried look on Ruby's face when she asked Weiss if she'll be alright getting home.

There was this short yet soft expression they shared as Ruby waved her off and closed the door, the look staying on her face even when Weiss was gone, as though she was smiling at herself.

"You really like her, don't you?" I asked, leaning against the wall by the entryway.

"What?"

"You don't have to deny it. It's written all over your face."

Ruby puts her hands to her cheeks, attempting to cover her reddening skin. "I-I wasn't denying it!"

"So, you like her?"

Ruby grumbles a bit and pushes past me in the hallway, probably heading up to her room. "Y-Yeah…"

"You realy, _reeeally_ like her?" I tease, turning my head around and waggling my eyebrows.

" _Yang!_ "

* * *

Ruby and Weiss dropped by the council room one day during lunch, where Blake and I were eating and doing some extra filing.

As Weiss went to sift through her binder for something, Ruby had stood next to her, subconsciously running a hand in circles along the presidents back.

I'm pretty sure if Weiss had noticed the motion she would have immediately told my sister off, however, she pays no mind as she grabs a paper she was seemingly looking for and saying goodbye to us before heading out of the room, Ruby hot on her heels.

Blake turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "Those two are dating, right?"

I continued munching on a granola bar and gave Blake a grin, knowing my quiet friend was way too smart to not have figured it out eventually.

"Yep."

* * *

There was one night where Ruby was worrying about Weiss not messaging her back, so to help distract her Blake and I started a game of never have I ever.

Although I didn't appreciate being teamed up on as I was, Ruby eventually got a text from Weiss and she, of course, immediately ran to the front door to slip her shoes on and meet her.

Knowing I couldn't stop her, it's all I can do to remind her she should bring a jacket and to stay safe, since it's so late out.

She gave me a nod before heading out the door and I plopped myself back down on the sofa, letting out a sigh.

"Ugh, they grow up so fast!" I exclaimed, leaning back and covering my eyes with my arm.

Blake lightly chuckled from her end of the sofa. "I think you'll make it."

I bit my lip and fiddled with the TV remote, not unpausing the show we had been watching yet.

"Do you think everything is going to work out between those two?"

"Hmm?" Blake questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Like, do you think they're going to be together for a while."

My normally quiet friend crossed her legs and leaned her chin into her hand. "Well, in my experience, when you're willing to leave your house late at night to go see the person, it usually means you care a great deal about them."

"Whoa, really?" I question in surprise, sitting up slightly. "You talking about your ex?"

She made a disgusted face, looking slightly taken aback, and shook her head. "What? No, absolutely not. He was terrible."

"Oh… then who?"

I remember Blake looking at me with disdain and fiddling with her hoodie strings. "Nothing… forget it. But if you're asking me if I think those two could stay together indefinitely, I would probably say yes. It's not often you find someone who you can fight about anything with and make up the next day the way those two do."

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" I acknowledged. "I just get so worried, ugh."

"It's alright to worry Yang, she's your sister after all."

I nodded and spun the remote around in my hand a few times, shooting Blake a grin across the couch.

"You know, I'm really glad you're my friend, Blake."

"Oh, why's that?" She asked, turning to look at me.

The way her amber eyes met mine made my gaze faulter. She has those types of eyes that make it seem as though she can see right through you, yet the murkiness in her irises hide so much about what she's really feeling. I've always had trouble getting a good read on her, even though we've been friends for, like, forever.

I felt like I took a moment longer than necessary to answer, and I swiftly turned my gaze down to the floor, scratching my neck in embarrassment.

"Oh, uh, I mean, who else watches trashy TV shows with me and lets me drag them to parties every weekend?"

Looking over briefly, Blake squinted her eyes, continuing to watch me for a few more moments before sighing and turning back towards the TV.

"You're an idiot." She stated.

I held a dramatic hand up to my chest. "Wha- So mean!"

She threw a couch cushion at me and I deflected it, laughing and grabbing another to throw back at her. This goes on for a bit and our laughter rings out through the house like it's own melody.

…We never did finish watching our show.

* * *

I sure have learned a lot of things throughout the time my sister has been in the council.

The thing I learned during the festival is that the president sucks at snowball fights - like - _really_ sucks.

Thinking back to music fest yesterday, Ruby dragging Weiss and dad throughout the stalls, the council making their toast, getting to listen to so much great music while drinking warm drinks… it brings a smile to my face as I gaze out my kitchen window.

A loud _beep beep beep_ breaks my thinking, and I walk over to the microwave to take out my bag of popcorn I'd been heating up.

As I set the hot bag down on the counter, I hear the front door being pushed open and slammed shut once more.

"God damn, it's _freezing_ outside!" I hear Ruby curse from the entryway, the scuffling of her boots being thrown on the floor following her outburst.

"You back already?" I call out to her. "I thought cleanup was going until five?"

"It was!" Ruby calls back. "We ended early because there was a blizzard warning."

She walks into the kitchen, shaking snow out of her hair as Zwei bumbles along behind her, his tail wagging against her pant leg.

"Hey there, boy." She coos, bending down momentarily and giving the excited pup a good scratch behind the ear. "Did Yang remember to give you breakfast this morning?" She asks the corgi, as though he would respond back.

I roll my eyes and poor my popcorn into a bowl on the table "Don't worry, I fed him. Want some popcorn?"

"Oh! Yes, please!" Ruby eagerly stands up and takes a handful.

"Someone's in a good mood." I inquire, raising my eyebrows.

My sister shrugs. "I guess you could say that."

"You have a good time at the festival? I haven't seen you since yesterday."

"The best." Ruby says, shoveling more popcorn into her mouth.

"That snowball fight was pretty good wasn't it? You saw me make that throw at Cardin towards the end, right?"

She laughs, nearly falling off her stool and leaning onto the kitchen island to keep steady. "Definitely. Best throw I've seen you make in a long time."

"Hell yeah, it was!"

I make a dramatic reenactment of throwing the snowball and Ruby giggles along, munching on some more popcorn as she watches me.

"…I've decided I really like winter." She says, almost as if she's talking to herself.

I lean back onto the counter and throw a few pieces of the salty snack in my mouth. "Even with having to shovel the driveway and not being able to walk outside without freezing your ass off?" I question.

Ruby sighs and shakes her head. "Even with shoveling driveways and freezing my ass off."

"Well, why's that?"

"Don't know. It's just been… a lot of fun lately I guess." She shrugs and takes a handful of popcorn. "And, like… isn't watching the snow fall just the best?"

I raise an eyebrow and turn towards the window. After a moment, I look back at my sister with a knowing look.

"Alright, what's got you all dopey?"

"Whatd'ya mean?" Ruby questions through a mouthful of popcorn.

"Ah-ah, you know you can't hide things from me. Sisters intuition - so spill."

Ruby rolls her eyes, but looks away from me, bashfully, as though her mind is a million miles away from the conversation. She looks at the floor with this small smile, a smile that's so sincere it makes my lips turn up slightly before even hearing what she has to say.

"Weiss said she loves me."

"Oh, yeah?" I say, my grin growing. "Did you say it back?"

Ruby sputters and turns to me with an incredulous expression, making me laugh and choke on my popcorn with how offended she looks.

"Wha-! Of course, I did! I said it first anyways!" She says, proudly.

"Ah, I see. That makes more sense." I say, knowing my sister wasn't the type to wait around when she feels something like that. She's always been good at figuring out how to say what she feels.

"What does that mean?" She frets. "You don't think Weiss would tell me on her own?"

"Not necessarily. It's just… a very _you_ thing to do." I say, giving her a knowing look.

Ruby mumbles some incoherent words and smiles nervously into her bowl of popcorn.

I chuckle and lightly jab my sister in the shoulder. "Joking aside, that's great. I'm happy for you two."

"Yeah, I'm-… I'm really happy too."

I just shake my head in incredulity, looking at my love-struck sister. It's not that her normal demeaner isn't honest and endearing in its own way, but the way she's acting right now borderlines the completely whipped category.

"I can tell. You've looked like a tomato ever since you walked inside."

"Have not!"

"You so have."

"Ugh, you're so annoying." She groans.

Ruby harrumphs and steps down from her stool, taking a handful of popcorn with her as she walks towards the hallway.

"Ruby." I call out from behind her.

"Yeah?" My sister questions, stopping with her hand on the stair banister.

I bite my lip and give her a sincere smile. "I know you're happy and I know that Weiss has been a great influence on you- but I want you to know you can still come to me if you ever need help with… anything. I'm still your big sister, yeah?"

Ruby rolls her eyes and gives me a goofy grin. "The best big sister I could ask for."

She thumps up the stairs and moments later, I hear the familiar sound of her bedroom door opening and shutting.

Taking another handful of popcorn, I look out the kitchen window, at the lightly falling snow, flurrying downwards and accumulating in small piles on the old cracked sidewalks and yellowing grass.

I may have taught my sister many lessons over the years, but that's not to say my sister hasn't taught me plenty of things too.

I guess now I know how much a simple thing like a snowfall can mean to a person.


End file.
